OFF-JOB POT USE UP FOR DEBATE

SALEM, Ore. -- A construction-industry group wants companies to have
the legal right to bar users of medical marijuana from working in
potentially hazardous jobs such as operating heavy machinery.

It is an issue that state lawmakers will likely take up during a
monthlong session that begins Feb. 4, and one that will produce
vigorous debate over whether people's right to legally use medical
marijuana can be trumped by issues such as workplace safety.

Under Oregon's 1998 medical-marijuana law, employers don't have to
let patients with medical-marijuana cards smoke it in the workplace.

But the law left it unclear whether employers must accommodate
workers who smoke medical marijuana off the job.

Negotiations are being conducted at the State Capitol over a bill
sought by Associated General Contractors specifying that
medical-marijuana users who work in dangerous or "safety-sensitive"
jobs could be fired or disciplined if they test positive.