Jobless benefits OK for medical marijuana users

MASON, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan judge has ruled that medical marijuana users who follow the state's medical marijuana law may collect unemployment benefits. The Lansing State Journal reports Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette's decision Tuesday overturned a state commission that found a state-approved medical marijuana user wasn't eligible for benefits after being fired following a drug test. The case involves ex-Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital employee Jenine Kemp of Lansing, who was fired in 2011. Kemp, whose duties included performing CT scans and starting IVs, has Lupus and neuropathy. She would ingest marijuana in food. Collette says the drug test "merely demonstrated what she had informed her employer of prior to the test -- that she uses medical marijuana." Michigan voters in 2008 approved the use of marijuana for medical reasons. Published: Fri, Mar 8, 2013