Section 20-2A-6 Application of Chapter; Authorized Use of Medical Cannabis Construed for Medical, Employment, and Child Welfare Purposes.

(a) This chapter does not do any of the following: (1) Require an insurer, organization for managed care, health benefit plan, or any individual or entity providing coverage for a medical or health care service to pay for or to reimburse any other individual or entity for costs associated with the use of medical cannabis. (2) Require any employer to permit, accommodate, or allow the use of medical cannabis, or to modify any job or working conditions of any employee who engages in the use of medical cannabis or for any reason seeks to engage in the use of medical cannabis. (3) Prohibit any employer from refusing to hire, discharging, disciplining, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against an individual with respect to hiring, discharging, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment as a result, in whole or in part, of that individual’s use of medical cannabis, regardless of the individual’s impairment or lack of impairment resulting from the use of medical cannabis. (4) Prohibit or limit the ability of any employer from establishing or enforcing a drug testing policy, including, but not limited to, a policy that prohibits the use of medical cannabis in the workplace or from implementing a drug-free workforce program established in accordance with Article 13, commencing with Section 25-5-330, of Chapter 5 of Title 25. (5) Prohibit or limit any employer from adopting an employment policy requiring its employees to notify the employer if an employee possesses a medical cannabis card. (6) Interfere with, impair, or impede, any federal restrictions on employment, including, but not limited to, regulations adopted by the United States Department of Transportation in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. (7) Permit, authorize, or establish any individual’s right to commence or undertake any legal action against an employer for refusing to hire, discharging, disciplining, or otherwise taking an adverse employment action against an individual with respect to hiring, discharging, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment due to the individual’s use of medical cannabis. (8) Require a government medical assistance program, employer, property and casualty insurer, or private health insurer to reimburse an individual for costs associated with the use of medical cannabis. (9) Affect, alter, or otherwise impact the workers’ compensation premium discount available to employers who establish a drug-free workplace policy certified by the Department of Labor, Workers’ Compensation Division, in accordance with Article 13, commencing with Section 25-5-330, of Chapter 5 of Title 25. (10) Affect, alter, or otherwise impact an employer’s right to deny, or establish legal defenses to, the payment of workers’ compensation benefits to an employee on the basis of a positive drug test or refusal to submit to or cooperate with a drug test, as provided under Section 25-5-51. (11) Affect, alter, or supersede any obligation or condition imposed on a parolee, probationer, or an individual participating in a pretrial diversion program or other court-ordered substance abuse rehabilitation program. (b) For the purpose of obtaining needed medical care, including organ transplants, a registered qualified patient’s authorized use of medical cannabis in accordance with this chapter is considered the equivalent of the authorized use of any other medication used at the direction of a licensed health care professional and may not constitute the use of an illicit substance or otherwise disqualify a registered qualified patient from such needed medical care. (c) An individual who is discharged from employment because of that individual’s use of medical cannabis, or refusal to submit to or cooperate with a drug test, shall be legally conclusively presumed to have been discharged for misconduct if the conditions of paragraph (3)a. of Section 25-4-78 are otherwise met. (d) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the Department of Human Resources from considering a parent or caretaker’s use of medical cannabis as a factor for determining the welfare of a child in any of the following circumstances: (1) There is evidence of child abuse or neglect. (2) The best interest of a child is determined for custody purposes. (3) A background check is performed for a prospective foster, adoptive, or kinship caretaker.