Colorado Court Rules Workers Can Be Fired for Marijuana Use

Even in one of the country’s most marijuana-friendly states, smoking pot off the job and away from work can still get an employee fired.

That was the unanimous conclusion of the Colorado Supreme Court, in a closely watched workplace lawsuit involving a customer service worker who uses medical marijuana to help soothe the painful spasms he has suffered since a car accident left him paralyzed. The worker, Brandon Coats, was fired from Dish Network in 2010 after testing positive for marijuana in a random drug test.