BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Louisiana bill that would make sure people with a medical marijuana prescription aren’t disqualified from unemployment benefits advanced in committee on Thursday, May 18.
The legalization of medical marijuana in Louisiana allows people diagnosed with debilitating medical conditions to get treatment. Some qualifying conditions include cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain.
State Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, said a task force was created last summer to compare how other states approached the issue. She said 25 of 37 states with medical marijuana programs have protections that serve both employees and employers.
“I wanted to come here and talk about this, how we have this big hole in the law and how people’s jobs are threatened by something that they are buying that is legal,” said Landry.
Landry went on to clarify that she “was not trying to pass a law that says you can be stoned at work” in response to an email from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
The bill passed out of the committee with a 6-5 vote.
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