PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Fall 2019

22  • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Fall 2019 LEGAL DOCKET The Attorney ask Michael E. Rowan, Esquire SHUMAKER WILLIAMS, P.C. General Counsel, Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association Michael E. Rowan, Esquire IT HAS BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS since medical marijuana has been available in Pennsylvania. As reported in a Legal Docket article last summer, Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act allows patients with certain medical conditions and their caretakers to obtain certification to purchase medical marijuana. When enacted, the Medical Marijuana Act recognized 17 “serious medical conditions” for which medical marijuana could be prescribed. Those conditions included cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and severe chronic or intractable pain. More recently, the list of serious medical conditions has been expended to include Tourette’s Syndrome, opioid-use disorders and anxiety disorders. Once certified, the patient and/or the patient’s caretaker may purchase medical marijuana from a licensed dispensary. The growth of the number of certified medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania been astonishing. In the first year after the registry was launched, there were approximately 51,000 certified medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania. By April 2019, the number of certified users climbed to over 100,000. With this many certified medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania, workplace issues involving medical marijuana are inevitable. Pennsylvania is one of approximately 13 states that has anti-discrimination protections specifically for medical marijuana users. However, the extent to which such protections extend into the workplace remains somewhat unclear. Furthermore, Pennsylvania courts have not yet directly addressed issues of medical marijuana in the workplace. Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, questions continue to linger for Pennsylvania employers. Indeed, several conflicting concerns and protections come into play. For example, may an employer punish someone for use of medical marijuana outside of the workplace? Does that constitute disability discrimination? Must an employer provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s use of medical marijuana if it impacts their job performance? Two provisions in the Act address employment-related concerns. First, Section 510 provides that a patient “may be prohibited by an employer” from An Update on Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act In the first year after the registry was launched, there were approximately 51,000 certified medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania.