Police officers, firefighters and paramedics working for the City of Wilder will not be able to consume medical cannabis while employed.
At a Wilder City Council meeting on Dec. 2, the council voted to amend its employee handbook, thereby establishing new personnel policies for the city’s health and safety workers regarding medical cannabis consumption. The council established its employee handbook for full and part-time city employees in December 2023.
“Basically, none of our health/safety employees that are in sensitive positions will be able to partake in medical marijuana,” City Administrator Terry Vance said during the meeting.
“So this will include all police, fire and public works,” asked Councilman Brad Murphy.
Vance specified that the amendment only applies to employees working for the police and fire departments, not public works and administration employees. Firefighters, police officers, and paramedics are the only Wilder employees who are governed by the city’s drug testing policies, he said.
“It’s only that finite amount of people in those two departments,” Vance said.
Wilder Police Chief Chad Martin and Fire Chief Douglas Neyman indicated their support for the measure during the meeting.
The sale of medical cannabis will be legal in the Bluegrass State on Jan. 1, 2025. This past Election Day, Wilder was one of 10 Northern Kentucky cities that voted to allow medical cannabis operations within city limits.
To qualify for a medical marijuana card, people must obtain a written certification from a medical practitioner showing a qualified medical condition, such as any type or form of cancer, chronic or debilitating pain, epilepsy or other seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and any other condition or disease listed in KRS 164.983.
In response to the vote, Wilder city officials wanted to clearly define which employees can and cannot use medical cannabis. Vance said the city previously adopted a zero-tolerance drug policy.
“This municipal order amends our policy to basically say that safety-sensitive employees that are on the drug testing policy — zero-tolerance policy — are not able to use medical marijuana,” Vance said.
Despite the legalization of medical cannabis statewide, state law installs several legal guardrails for employers to restrict substance usage in the workplace.
Under Kentucky state law, employers are not required to accommodate the use of medical marijuana and can operate as a drug-free work environment. The law permits employers to perform marijuana drug testing and act in accordance with the test results. Employers are also allowed to test employees in “good faith.”
Essentially, this allows workplaces to conduct behavioral assessments for impairment. Suppose an employer is able to determine that a cardholding employee is impaired while on the job based on both a behavioral assessment and a traditional cannabis test. In that case, the onus will shift to the employee to refute.
State law will also prohibit qualified medical marijuana cardholders from using equipment, machinery, or power tools if the employer believes that a safety risk is posed. In addition, workers cannot be under the influence of medical cannabis while conducting specific tasks like navigating or being in control of a city vehicle, aircraft or watercraft.
If an employee is discharged from the workplace for either consuming medical cannabis, working while under the influence of medical cannabis, or testing positive for a controlled substance, they will not be able to receive unemployment benefits if such actions are against an organization’s employment contract of personnel policy.
Vance said Wilder would require all employees to officially acknowledge the handbook’s amendment through signature.
