Wal Mart Fires Medical Marijuana User

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Wal-Mart 'Sympathetic' to Man Fired for Using Medical Pot, but Won't Rehire Him

By Rhett

- FOXNews.com

A Walmart employee with sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor who was fired

for using medical marijuana will not be rehired, even though the company says it

is " sympathetic " to his condition.

ph Casias, 29, was fired in November from a Walmart store in Battle Creek,

Mich., after marijuana was detected in a routine drug screening that he

underwent after he sprained his knee at work.

Casias, who was the store's 2008 associate of the year, said he legally used

marijuana to reduce pain associated with his disease and was never under the

influence while at work.

" I gave them everything, " Casias told Wzzm13.com. " 110 percent every day.

Anything they asked me to do, I did. More than they asked me to do. Twelve to 14

hours a day. "

Casias, who has been collecting unemployment since his termination, reportedly

received a notification this week that Wal-Mart was challenging his eligibility

for benefits. But Wal-Mart officials will no longer object to Casias receiving

those benefits, company spokesman Greg Rossiter told FoxNews.com.

" This is just an unfortunate situation all around, " Rossiter said. " We're

sympathetic to Mr. Casias' condition, but like other companies, we have to

consider the overall safety of our customers and associates, including Mr.

Casias, when making a difficult decision like this. "

Asked if Wal-Mart officials were considered offering Casias his job back,

Rossiter replied: " No, we're not. "

The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based marijuana advocacy

organization, has called for a nationwide boycott of all Walmart stores to

protest Casias' termination.

" MPP is asking shoppers to demand that Wal-Mart abandon its discriminatory

policy of firing employees who are legal medical marijuana patients under state

law, " an MPP blog posting read. " We need to send a strong message to Wal-Mart

and other businesses in medical marijuana states that it is not acceptable to

fire sick people for trying to get better by following their doctor's

recommendation and obeying state law. Marijuana is a legitimate medicine,

supported by science and protected by law in 14 states, including Michigan. "

Dan Korobkin, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Michigan

branch, said Wal-Mart's action against Casias is unlawful and " shameful. "

" It's illegal to fire somebody for being a medical marijuana patient, and it's

also shameful to punish somebody for treating their medical condition in a legal

way, " Korobkin told FoxNews.com. " As far as I know, Wal-Mart itself sells a lot

of over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications. "

Korobkin said federal authorities have announced they will not enforce federal

marijuana laws in states that have legalized its usage for medicinal purposes,

including Michigan, and he's " cautiously optimistic " that Wal-Mart officials

will reconsider Casias' termination.

" Wal-Mart is a large corporation, but they don't supersede state laws, " he said.

" When the voters of the state vote to make the use of medical marijuana legal

and protected, that is a law that binds even Wal-Mart. "