When his position was terminated, New Jersey funeral director Justin Wild claimed in a lawsuit against his employer that he was unlawfully discriminated against for using medical marijuana as part of his cancer treatment as permitted under the state’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA). Although a trial judge held the suit could not go forward because CUMMA does not require an employer to accommodate a medical marijuana user, on appeal, three judges disagreed, holding that “because the Compassionate Use Act declared it should not be construed to ‘require’ an accommodation does not mean such a requirement might not be imposed by other legislation.” The termination followed a car accident, for which Wild was not found to be at fault, that occurred during working hours. Wild also alleged that his managers defamed him by telling other area funeral directors that he was a drug addict. The lawsuit has been reopened.
