New Law in the Works to Allow Employees Personal Marijuana Usage

If you can't smoke weed because of your job, you might want to listen up.

According to The Denver Post, Colorado lawmakers are pushing to allow employees to use marijuana off the clock without punishment.

House Representative Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, has created a bill that would prohibit employers from firing employees for participating in legal activities during their free time.

The bill would change the definition of legal activities to include ones that are legal under state law, but not federally. This means that the bill could apply to more than just marijuana in the future.

The bill would not be applicable to federal employees.

"It was just a glaring gap that we have here in the statute," said Melton. "...especially when we're supposed to regulate marijuana like we are with alcohol."

However, not everyone feels that marijuana can be regulated in the same way as alcohol.

House Representative Hugh McKean, R-Loveland, fears that we do not yet have a complete understanding of how THC affects us.

He believes that the bill could cause unforeseen conflicts between business owners and their employees.

Loren Furman, of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, said her primary concern about the bill lies with those who operate dangerous equipment, particularly in the oil or mining professions.

Others, such as Representative Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, support the bill. Singer said the bill would help people in poverty and people of color, who he believes are disproportionately targeted by workplace marijuana bans.

The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing as of yet.