Last week we filed a lawsuit on behalf of Brittany Thomas, a 24-year-old mother from Pittsfield who was denied rehiring by a staffing firm because she uses medical marijuana in accordance with state law.
Thomas suffers from severe back pain caused by spondylosis, arthritis, two bulging disks, a herniated disk, an annular tear and a pinched nerve. She was originally prescribed narcotic pain medications, but suffered from the side effects and found she had to continually increase her dosage in order to relieve her pain. After consulting with her doctor, she tried medical marijuana and found that it controlled her pain without the side effects or increased dosages of traditional prescription pain medication. You can read more about Brittany’s story in the Press Herald.
We filed this lawsuit because we believe people like Brittany and Joseph Casias should not have to choose between the pain medicine they need and supporting their families, and because we believe businesses operating in Maine should observe Maine laws and policies. Mainers voted to decriminalize the limited use of medical marijuana for serious conditions in 2008.
On Thursday, we’ll join legislators and other advocates for sensible drug law reform at a press conference to urge passage of a new bill that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Stay tuned here for more details.
