Summary: House Bill 2503 was Sponsored by Representative BUCKLEY -- Relating to medical Marijuana in the workplace.

Relating to medical Marijuana in the workplace; creating new provisions; and amending ORS ... ... person's status as medical Marijuana registry cardholder or use of medical Marijuana off property or premises of ...

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating to medical Marijuana in the workplace; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 475.340.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 475.340 is amended to read:

475.340. Nothing in ORS 475.300 to 475.346 shall be construed to require:

(1) A government medical assistance program or private health insurer to reimburse a person for costs associated with the medical use of Marijuana; or

(2) An employer to accommodate the medical use of Marijuana

{ - in any workplace - } { + on the property or premises of any place employment or during hours of employment except as provided in section 3 of this 2009 Act + }.

[snip]

SECTION 3. { + (1) It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination or any term or condition of employment or otherwise penalize a person if the discrimination is based on:

(a) The status of the person as a registry identification cardholder; or

(b) A positive drug test for Marijuana if the person is a registry identification cardholder and the medical use of Marijuana does not occur on the property or premises of the place of employment or during the hours of employment.

(2) The prohibition established by this section does not apply to an person employed in a safety-sensitive position. As used in this section, 'safety-sensitive position' means a position in which:

(a) The medical use of Marijuana could affect the performance of the employee and endanger the health and safety of others;

[snip] (4) Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from terminating the employment of, or taking other corrective action against, an employee who is impaired on the property or premises of the place of employment or during the hours of employment, because of the medical use of Marijuana. + }

The text on this Bill can be found in PDF format at: http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2500.dir/hb2503.intro.pdf

Status:

01/29 (H) First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk.
02/04 (H) Referred to Business and Labor.
03/18 (H) Public Hearing held.

Testifying

Each speaker called to testify will have two minutes to address the committee. The order of testimony may be managed to ensure that all points of view on these measures are presented.

Staff respectfully requests that you submit 25 collated copies of written materials at the time of your testimony and, if possible, an electronic copy of materials provided to staff 24 hours prior to the meeting. Persons making presentations including the use of video, DVD, PowerPoint or overhead projection equipment are asked to contact committee staff and provide an electronic copy 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Whether you want to testify or not, it would be good to come to Salem for any hearings. It would be especially good to try to schedule a meeting with your Senator -or- Representative before the meeting, possible.

As with coming to court, if you decide to attend hearings, please dress appropriately and be polite and respectful.

click here -

http://www.leg.state.or.us/capinfo/

- for Capitol Info, such as directions, phone numbers and maps.

If you cannot attend, Please write and testify. You can find wording of the measures here: http://www.leg.state.or.us/bills_laws/

you can listen to the hearings online here http://www.leg.state.or.us/listn/

Details:  

> Prohibits discrimination in employment under certain circumstances if discrimination is based on person's status as medical marijuana registry cardholder or use of medical marijuana off property or premises of employment or during hours that are not hours of employment.

> Makes such discrimination unlawful employment practice. Allows employers to discipline employees who use medical marijuana on property or premises or during hours of employment.  

A copy of the Bill may be found online at:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2500.dir/hb2503.intro.pdf

. and here .

http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measures/hb2500.dir/hb2503.intro.html

LTL (Letters-To-yer-Legislator, Editor, Org Director, Biz Owner)

you can send identical emails to every oregon senator (which will show as individual emails from you, to that senator) by sending To: orsen@oreg.net

you can send identical emails to every oregon representative (which will show as individual emails from you, to that representative) by sending To: orhouse@oreg.net

NOTEs - MAP's media resource center:


http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

If you go to about the middle of the page you will find the "Style Guide" with links to:

• MAP Letters to the Editor Archive
• Tips for Getting Letters to the Editor Published, by Platinum Letter Writer, Robert Sharpe
• Letters to the Editor & Opinion Pieces, American College of Emergency Physicians
• MAP Three Tips for Letter Writers
• Powerful Paragraphs, ClearWriter's ClearTips
• How to Write Letters to the Editor, Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
• Grammar Bytes!, Grammar Instruction with Attitude
• How to Communicate with Journalists, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
• Letter Writer's Style Guide, by Chris Donald
• Writing Effective Letters to the Editor, 20/20 Vision


respectfully, we suggest two main rules-of-thumb for letter writing to improve the liklihood of being published.

1. Write short declarative sentences as if you were speaking to a child, a small animal or a judge.

2. Limit yourself to 150 words.

Best of luck.

Here is .   Examples -

Will be posted as we learn about them.

Questions?  Comments?   Need some info?   Got some info?   NetWork!   E-Mail us or visit the Bulletin Board for further comments on this Bill -or- to post your own.

comments will go here.