In This Article
Public employees and applicants would be protected from employment discrimination based on their off-duty use of medical cannabis under a bill introduced in the Florida House of Representatives last week. The measure, HB 83 from newly elected state Rep. Mitch Rosenwald, would prohibit state agencies and local governments from taking disciplinary action against an employee or refusing to hire applicants who test positive for cannabis, provided the worker has a valid recommendation for medical cannabis.
An identical measure, SB 142, was filed in the Florida Senate on Monday by Sen. Tina Polsky, who introduced a similar measure last year. That bill, SB 166, died in the Senate Health Policy Committee without a vote in March 2024.
The legislation prohibits state, county, and local governments from refusing to hire and from demoting, firing, or suspending “qualified patients” based on the positive results of a drug test for cannabis. Public employees or applicants who test positive for cannabis would be given five days to present a valid medical cannabis card.
The measure would not apply to law enforcement agencies, allowing them to take disciplinary action against workers who use medical marijuana, even with a doctor’s recommendation. The bill would also not apply to workers who use cannabis on the job or who are under the influence of the drug while working.
“A public employer may consider an employee’s ability to perform his or her job duties or responsibilities to be impaired if the employee displays specific, articulable symptoms while working which adversely affect the performance of his or her duties or responsibilities,” the bill reads, according to a report from online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment.
Bill Inspired by Firing of Corrections Officer
Although the bill, as written, would not apply to his case, the legislation was inspired by the experience of Samuel E. Velez Ortiz, who was fired by the Florida Department of Corrections after he tested positive for cannabis in 2021. Velez Ortiz, a military veteran who was issued a recommendation to use cannabis to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, was deemed by the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission to be unfit to carry a firearm as required by his job description. The commission found that federal law makes Velez Ortiz unqualified to carry a gun.
The commission’s decision was upheld by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal. The state Supreme Court denied a petition to review the case in January 2024.
Ortiz Velez’s attorney, Michael Minardi, also represented Angelo Giambrone, a Hillsborough County paramedic who was suspended after testing positive for cannabis. In both cases, the employers acknowledged that the workers had not been found to be under the influence of cannabis while on the job.
“They should have the same rights of any other patient, and exactly the same restrictions,” Minardi told the Florida Phoenix last year. “They shouldn’t be allowed to go out on their lunch break and get high and come back under the influence and affect their job. Nobody wants that, but I don’t want somebody using opiates and being at work, either.”
A Hillsborough County judge ruled in favor of Giambrone in a lawsuit he filed, deciding that he was shielded from discrimination for using a medical marijuana card. The judge also ruled that Giambrone was entitled to back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney fees.
“It’s finally what I think the people voted for in 2016 for medical marijuana coming to fruition,” Minardi said about last month’s decision. “We think this is obviously a correct verdict and hopefully allow marijuana patients to stop being discriminated against when they’re using medicine so they can be functional human beings in life again.”
The Florida legislature’s 2025 session begins on March 4.
Learn more about Florida's cannabis laws and regulations. And sign up for NuggMD's Weekly Sesh newsletter for the latest cannabis news, consumer tips, and recommendations.
The information in this article and any included images or charts are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.
