Massachusetts Lawmakers Approve Bills To Protect Marijuana Users From Employment Discrimination And Expand Medical Cannabis Program

Massachusetts lawmakers have advanced a pair of bills that would provide employment protections for marijuana consumers and expand the state’s medical cannabis program, in part by adding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions.

The legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy reported the two measures out favorably on Tuesday.

Rep. Michael Soter (R) sponsored the medical marijuana expansion legislation, which would amend the existing state statute to include PTSD and opioid use disorder as conditions that could qualify patients for cannabis if recommended by a doctor.

Additionally, the bill would revise the statute to make it so military veterans who receive health care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) could qualify for medical cannabis if they provide documentation “indicating a diagnosis of a debilitating medical condition.”

The other bill that moved through the joint committee, sponsored by Rep. Michael Kushmerek (D), would bar employers from refusing to hire, terminate or under-compensate a worker based on the presence of THC metabolites in a drug test, “unless reasonable suspicion exists that the employee was impaired by marijuana at the employee’s place of employment or during the hours of employment.”

Further, the legislation would make it so it “shall be a defense to such employment action if the employee, due to the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol or marijuana metabolite in the blood, urine or other body sample provided by the individual, is unable to maintain licenses, credentials, or other qualifications that are reasonably necessary for the performance of the employee’s position, regardless of whether such licensing, credentialing, or other qualifications prohibit the employee from using marijuana.”

“This section shall not apply to safety sensitive positions or if compliance would cause the employer to commit a violation of a federal law, regulation, contract, or funding agreement,” the bill text states.

As the measures are advancing, the attorney general of Massachusetts recently published dozens of proposed initiatives for the 2026 ballot—including a pair that would roll back adult-use marijuana legalization in the state.

The two marijuana measures—which would eliminate the commercial adult-use market while maintaining patient access under the medical cannabis program and continuing to allow lawful possession of up to an ounce of recreational marijuana—are being spearheaded by Caroline Cunningham, who previously fought against a psychedelics legalization ballot initiative that voters ultimately rejected last year.

Whether the cannabis measures will make the ballot is yet to be seen. Voters approved legalization at the ballot in 2016, with sales launching two years later. And the past decade has seen the market evolve and expand. As of last month, Massachusetts officials reported more than $8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

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Regulators are also working to finalize rules to allow for a new cannabis consumption lounge license type, which they hope to complete by October.

Separately, in May, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) launched an online platform aimed at helping people find jobs, workplace training and networking opportunities in the state’s legal cannabis industry.

State lawmakers have also been considering setting tighter restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products and a plan to allow individual entities to control a larger number of cannabis establishments.

Also in Massachusetts, legislators who were working on a state budget butted heads with CCC officials, who’ve said they can’t make critical technology improvements without more money from the legislature.

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.