Walmart fires Michigan cancer patient for using medical marijuana

[TitsMcGee]

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.

Joseph 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."

[Slogo]

Assholes...well I'll never shop there again. Then again I don't really go there anyways

[StormKnight (1)]

Where I was doing surgery, it was the only place nearby to do shopping. Now, in a more civilized area, I can give it the Foamy Fingers in the air.

[phee]

Walmart keeps this up, they might be seen as a bit evil...... oh wait.

[DJ Nocker]

Get owned, Pothead.

Sorry, no pity, they could have taken pain pills, but nope, they gotta smoke weed, which is less effective, smart..smaaart...

[candyman]

Even though I don't think he shoulda been smoking that shit...how does the weed make him ANY different from the rest of the people that work there? He was probably more "alive" when he was all doped up than the average employee there is when sober!

[TitsMcGee]

Get owned, Pothead.

Sorry, no pity, they could have taken pain pills, but nope, they gotta smoke weed, which is less effective, smart..smaaart...

You apparently have done no research. And narcotics are addictive and dangerous, marijuana is not. My father just had a brain tumor removed and is a medical marijuana user and does 10x better with marijuana than he does with the narcotics he's on, he is able to function without med head.

Before you make seriously wrong assumptions, actually do the research on the subject.

[DJ Nocker]

You apparently have done no research. And narcotics are addictive and dangerous, marijuana is not. My father just had a brain tumor removed and is a medical marijuana user and does 10x better with marijuana than he does with the narcotics he's on, he is able to function without med head.

Before you make seriously wrong assumptions, actually do the research on the subject.

The fact that you just said Pot isnt addicting alone ruined your statement, but go ahead and try to "educate" me. Ill listen to your thoughts.

And not to sound like A dick...but you have no fucking clue about how much I know about what drugs can do to a person, so dont tell me im uneducated about the subject

Edited March 17, 2010 by Sluagh686

[the eternal]

You apparently have done no research. And narcotics are addictive and dangerous, marijuana is not. My father just had a brain tumor removed and is a medical marijuana user and does 10x better with marijuana than he does with the narcotics he's on, he is able to function without med head.

Before you make seriously wrong assumptions, actually do the research on the subject.

The fact that you just said Pot isnt addicting alone ruined your statement, but go ahead and try to "educate" me. Ill listen to your thoughts.

And not to sound like A dick...but you have no fucking clue about how much I know about what drugs can do to a person, so dont tell me im uneducated about the subject

Seriuously, before this goes any further

Sluagh--- I want you to take a second and think about the shit that her father's been through and all that TG has had to go through over the past year. If medicinal marijuana has truly helped him make things bearable, and it has truly helped others where more mainstream drugs have failed, we should try to support it.

And if we can't, at least support the people who are going through so much pain.

And the people who tirelessly care for them.

A little sensitivity here.

[Hellion]

Seriuously, before this goes any further

Sluagh--- I want you to take a second and think about the shit that her father's been through and all that TG has had to go through over the past year. If medicinal marijuana has truly helped him make things bearable, and it has truly helped others where more mainstream drugs have failed, we should try to support it.

And if we can't, at least support the people who are going through so much pain.

And the people who tirelessly care for them.

A little sensitivity here.

Well said ,I myself don't trust corporate drugs anyway.

[TitsMcGee]

The fact that you just said Pot isnt addicting alone ruined your statement, but go ahead and try to "educate" me. Ill listen to your thoughts.

And not to sound like A dick...but you have no fucking clue about how much I know about what drugs can do to a person, so dont tell me im uneducated about the subject

The majority of people who use medical marijuana, that has been RECOMMENDED to them by a doctor, don't do it to get high. Sure you're always going to get the bad apples with "back injuries" that will get their card so they can get stoned without getting into trouble. But for a cancer patient it can mean being able to eat without vomiting from the chemotherapy, or to be able to sleep for more than an hour before the pain wakes you up.

And you're right I don't know how much you know about drugs, and I really don't want to know either. I just know that I am a caregiver for my cancer patient father and I've seen how much pot has helped him. All the so called statistics in the world won't change my opinion on what I've seen with my own eyes.

And by calling a cancer patient a pot head shows me that you lack compassion because of things you've experience in your own life with drugs. If it works for a person who are you to judge? Who is Wal-Mart to judge what medication a person can take to work there, especially if they don't use it while they are on company time. If the state of Michigan, as fucked up as it may be, gives a person a card saying they can legally take a substance to help them with pain, who are any of us to judge?

I just don't think it's fair that this man is now going to lose his health insurance which pays for all his other medications, because Wal-Mart doesn't agree with what kind of medication he takes.

[freydis]

The fact that you just said Pot isnt addicting alone ruined your statement, but go ahead and try to "educate" me. Ill listen to your thoughts.

And not to sound like A dick...but you have no fucking clue about how much I know about what drugs can do to a person, so dont tell me im uneducated about the subject

....and unless your experience of narcotic pain medication vs medical marijuana is non-recreational, you're attempting to equate apples to oranges.

[freydis]

Seriuously, before this goes any further

Sluagh--- I want you to take a second and think about the shit that her father's been through and all that TG has had to go through over the past year. If medicinal marijuana has truly helped him make things bearable, and it has truly helped others where more mainstream drugs have failed, we should try to support it.

And if we can't, at least support the people who are going through so much pain.

And the people who tirelessly care for them.

A little sensitivity here.

I'm not personally comfortable with medical pot, but realise how some may find it preferable to the inevitable barrage of other things the docs do for pain.... if medical pot can keep you off more serious stuff, then you should have the option without the stigma. They tried to put David on methadone for his pain at one point, but he knew how dangerous it was and opted to stick with vicodin and just suffer it out. Not everyone can do that.

[Draco1958]

I had an Uncle who passed away from brain cancer in 1980. He was offered medical marijuana then because it would ease the pain and the effects of his chemo. Chemo is nasty as to what it does to the body. MM eases that. Helps a patient keep an appetite and keep their food down. I'm sorry you don't see that. I do and I fully support it and think Walmart is stupid for their decision.

[TitsMcGee]

I'm not personally comfortable with medical pot, but realise how some may find it preferable to the inevitable barrage of other things the docs do for pain.... if medical pot can keep you off more serious stuff, then you should have the option without the stigma. They tried to put David on methadone for his pain at one point, but he knew how dangerous it was and opted to stick with vicodin and just suffer it out. Not everyone can do that.

Methadone ?! Now that is some scary shit.

[n0Mad]

Methadone ?! Now that is some scary shit.

Yes, it is. Doctors also prescribe cocaine, opium, and heroin, but all under different scientific sounding names of course. And all that is okay. Yet why do people freak out about marijuana? Of all those drugs listed above, marijuana is nothing. Yet all the former are accepted by society but the latter is not? Now that's fucked up.

Granted, I do think that medical marijuana can be administered in better ways than a joint. Find out what works and make a pill or a nebulizer so you're only getting the good stuff that will help you and none of the crap that comes with smoking, not to mention the stigma involved.

[Destroit]

You apparently have done no research. And narcotics are addictive and dangerous, marijuana is not. My father just had a brain tumor removed and is a medical marijuana user and does 10x better with marijuana than he does with the narcotics he's on, he is able to function without med head.

Before you make seriously wrong assumptions, actually do the research on the subject.

Pain pills are less effective and more harmful to the user. There are more undesirable side effects for pain pills that can lead to things like organ failure.

Weed? Well there's benefits to people who DON'T even need it medically. I'm still wondering why anyone debates the pot arguement, it's beyond me.

[Destroit]

Granted, I do think that medical marijuana can be administered in better ways than a joint. Find out what works and make a pill or a nebulizer so you're only getting the good stuff that will help you and none of the crap that comes with smoking, not to mention the stigma involved.

Patients are not encouraged to smoke it conventionally, they make empty gel-pills, have vaporizers and encourage patients to put it into recipes.

[phee]

Pain pills are less effective and more harmful to the user. There are more undesirable side effects for pain pills that can lead to things like organ failure.

Weed? Well there's benefits to people who DON'T even need it medically. I'm still wondering why anyone debates the pot arguement, it's beyond me.

Use and abuse are different...

That being said... I don't see how pot is any different from other things that can be abused, alcohol for example... I have seen people ruin their lives abusing one and/or both pot and drinking. I have also seen people NOT ruin their lives with it.

[Destroit]

The fact that you just said Pot isnt addicting alone ruined your statement, but go ahead and try to "educate" me. Ill listen to your thoughts.

And not to sound like A dick...but you have no fucking clue about how much I know about what drugs can do to a person, so dont tell me im uneducated about the subject

Also have been searchng on a legitimate (i.e. non-propaganda "Reefer Madness" style bullshit page) as to where marijuana is physicially addictive. I don't want any of the "psychologically, emotionally, or mentally" addictive crap, if we're going to play that then I'm "psychologically, emotionally, and mentally" addicted to DDR, bagels with cream cheese, and EBM/Electro/Industrial, and that stuff is all legal. Anything that is psychologcially addictive should not be illegal. Personally though I don't believe any drugs should be illegal, or any "victimless crimes" for that matter. That's just my view and I know many won't agree with it. The government going after victimless crime saying that stuff IS crime in the first place is creating MORE crime, not solving it.

Edited March 18, 2010 by Chernobyl

[Slogo]

(wishing he could throw plus 1000 toward cherny)

[Rev.Reverence]

Also have been searchng on a legitimate (i.e. non-propaganda "Reefer Madness" style bullshit page) as to where marijuana is physicially addictive. I don't want any of the "psychologically, emotionally, or mentally" addictive crap, if we're going to play that then I'm "psychologically, emotionally, and mentally" addicted to DDR, bagels with cream cheese, and EBM/Electro/Industrial, and that stuff is all legal. Anything that is psychologcially addictive should not be illegal. Personally though I don't believe any drugs should be illegal, or any "victimless crimes" for that matter. That's just my view and I know many won't agree with it. The government going after victimless crime saying that stuff IS crime in the first place is creating MORE crime, not solving it.

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up, Cherny

fuck it up

[Slogo]

You provide a legal means to get drugs then the profit motive goes away for drug dealers (many of whom ARE violent criminals). We in turn save billions of dollars a year in tax money that could go toward better use...i don't know...roads come to mind.

For further info watch the movie, American Drug War: The Last White Hope

[Rev.Reverence]

You provide a legal means to get drugs then the profit motive goes away for drug dealers (many of whom ARE violent criminals). We in turn save billions of dollars a year in tax money that could go toward better use...i don't know...roads come to mind.

For further info watch the movie, American Drug War: The Last White Hope

...or...maybe, our near failing schools...

[LadyKay]

Get owned, Pothead.

Sorry, no pity, they could have taken pain pills, but nope, they gotta smoke weed, which is less effective, smart..smaaart...

Hmmmmm unless I myself was dealing with cancer and an inoperable brain tumor, I don't think that I could make such a judgment call on someone else.