Still wading through 300 pages of legalese. But, I culled this from an article online, and I added in the pertinent actual wording from the laws.
An employer may implement a policy prohibiting the possession, use or other consumption of cannabis by an employee, except (A) as provided in section 21a-408p of the general statutes, and (B) for possession of palliative cannabis by a qualifying patient under chapter 420f of the general statutes, provided such policy is: (i) In writing in either physical or electronic form, and (ii) made available to each employee prior to the enactment of such policy. The employer shall make any such policy available to each prospective employee at the time the employer makes an offer or conditional offer of employment to the prospective employee.
No employer shall discharge from employment or take any adverse action against any employee or prospective employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, refusal to hire or other privileges of employment because such employee or prospective employee had or had not smoked, vaped, aerosolized or otherwise used cannabis products outside of the workplace before such employee or prospective employee was employed by such employer, unless failing to do so would put the employer in violation of a federal contract or cause it to lose federal funding. Smoking restrictions that apply to places like schools, restaurants, bars and retail shops will now apply to marijuana.
Sec. 21a-408p. Treatment of student, tenant or employee due to status as qualifying patient or primary caregiver. (a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Action” has the meaning provided in section 47a-1;
(2) “Dwelling unit” has the meaning provided in section 47a-1;
(3) “Employer” means a person engaged in business who has one or more employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state;
(4) “Landlord” has the meaning provided in section 47a-1;
(5) “Palliative use” has the meaning provided in section 21a-408;
(6) “Primary caregiver” has the meaning provided in section 21a-408;
(7) “Qualifying patient” has the meaning provided in section 21a-408;
(8) “School” means a public or private elementary or secondary school in this state or a public or private institution of higher education in this state; and
(9) “Tenant” has the meaning provided in section 47a-1.
(b) Unless required by federal law or required to obtain federal funding:
(1) No school may refuse to enroll any person or discriminate against any student solely on the basis of such person’s or student’s status as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver under sections 21a-408 to 21a-408n, inclusive;
(2) No landlord may refuse to rent a dwelling unit to a person or take action against a tenant solely on the basis of such person’s or tenant’s status as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver under sections 21a-408 to 21a-408n, inclusive; and
(3) No employer may refuse to hire a person or may discharge, penalize or threaten an employee solely on the basis of such person’s or employee’s status as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver under sections 21a-408 to 21a-408n, inclusive. Nothing in this subdivision shall restrict an employer’s ability to prohibit the use of intoxicating substances during work hours or restrict an employer’s ability to discipline an employee for being under the influence of intoxicating substances during work hours.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the palliative use of marijuana in violation of subsection (b) of section 21a-408a.
So, what does all of this mean? Testing positive for cannabis in a pre-employment or continuing employment is not a reason for termination or rescinding the offer of employment, EXCEPT where it runs afoul with federally funded employers. So, the CT people who work for defense contractors are still unprotected from adverse consequences of cannabis use even off the clock, even if they are medical marijuana patients.
However, you are still prohibited from using while on the clock. And there is a host of places that you cannot even have cannabis in your car while on your employers property. Even if you are a medical patient. Just remember, your co-worker can consume enough OxyContin to need Narcan, but you can’t even put tincture in your coffee. Nor can you leave the property on your lunch hour and take a couple hits off a vape. Somehow these fools making laws see the euphoria (legal terminology for the “high”) you get from cannabis is worse than the one from strong opioids.
Make no mistake, despite legalization, “Reefer Madness” among law and policy makers is still alive and well.
As far as smoking in rented housing, your landlord cannot hold it against you if you use cannabis, except if you are in Section 8 housing, again, because it’s a federally funded program. A co-worker of mine often comments that “the feds could screw up a wet dream”. And you know what, he ain’t wrong.
So, while merely possessing it is not grounds for eviction from Section 8, or even traditional rental housing, you can be prohibited from using smokable cannabis in any rental unit. And you are also responsible for your guests, and anyone else who lives in your unit. So, if you are having a party, and your guests decide to light up a blunt, you can be evicted.
You have to smoke a minimum of 25 feet away from any door or windows of businesses and rental dwellings. If you own your property, obviously, you can smoke anywhere on your property, even if your property is less than 25 feet from your neighbors house. On the day of legalization, I smoked a joint in my driveway, less than 8 feet from my neighbor’s window. I could not be arrested for it, nor can I face civil penalties. In other words, my neighbors couldn’t sue me “for loss of enjoyment of their property.”
Now, as I said in the first paragraphs, I took much of these statements from news media coverage of the legalization and copy and pasted the pertinent parts of the law. If you have any questions, any concerns, please consult an attorney. None of us here at EIBWB are lawyers.
Stay lifted, friends!
Everything Is Better With Budder! 