Your West Virginia medical card and your job

The short answer

Under the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act as passed in 2017, your employer may not fire you, refuse to hire you, threaten you, or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against you solely because you are certified to use medical cannabis. That protection is about your status as a patient. It does not cover being impaired on the job.

One caution before anything else. That language is in section 16A-15-4 of the 2017 enrolled act. We could not read the current version of the code directly, and we found no later amendment to that section, but we cannot rule one out. Check the current code at the West Virginia Legislature's site, or ask a lawyer, before you rely on it.

What the 2017 text protects

The protection is narrow and specific. It covers adverse actions taken because you hold a certification:

• Being fired
• Being threatened
• Not being hired
• Other discrimination or retaliation over your certification itself

The word "solely" carries a lot of weight. If an employer can point to another reason, such as conduct at work, the protection may not help you.

What your employer can still do

The same section gives employers real room. Under the 2017 text, an employer:

• does not have to accommodate medical cannabis use on work premises;
• may discipline an employee for being under the influence at work when the employee's conduct falls below the accepted standard of care for the position;
• is not required to do anything that would violate federal law.

In plain terms, your card does not give you a right to use at work or to show up impaired.

Heights, confined spaces and mining

A separate part of the 2017 text, section 16A-5-10, matters a lot in this state. It bars a patient from working at heights or in confined spaces while under the influence of medical cannabis, and it names mining. It also lets employers bar patients from tasks that are life-threatening or safety-sensitive while under the influence.

If you work underground, on a tower, on a rig, or anywhere a mistake could hurt someone, read your employer's written policy closely. The law gives your employer clear authority in those settings.

Driving for work counts too

OMC says medical cannabis patients are not exempt from state or federal impaired-driving laws. The 2017 text sets a 3 nanogram per milliliter THC limit for driving or operating heavy machinery, which we could not confirm in the current code. If your job involves a truck, a school bus or equipment, assume driving after use is off the table. Our patient rules page covers the driving section.

Practical steps

1. Read your employer's drug and alcohol policy before you apply for a card, so nothing surprises you later.
2. Keep use away from work hours and work property.
3. If your job is safety-sensitive, talk with your certifying physician about timing and which form you use, since that affects when you would be under the influence.
4. If something goes wrong at work, write down dates, names and what was said, then talk to an employment lawyer.

We are not lawyers, and this page is not legal advice. It is a plain reading of the text we could verify.

Before you apply

None of this should stop you from getting a card if you qualify. It just means going in with your eyes open. Check the qualifying conditions, see the common questions people ask about the program, and when you are ready, the application guide walks you through the steps.

Questions people ask

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