Nearly Half of Oregonians Oppose Efforts to Allow Employers to Penalize

This analysis is based on 500 interviews; the survey was conducted December 3 - 7, 2008.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Almost a Majority of Oregonians Oppose Efforts to Revise the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act to Allow Employers to Fire or Not Hire Medical Marijuana Patients.

By a margin of 17 points, voters oppose amending Oregon’s 1998 Medical Marijuana Act (for which there is still resounding support across the state) to allow employers to discriminate against medical marijuana patients.

Legislative tampering with the voter-approved law could prove problematical. Nearly one-half of Oregon voters are opposed, less than one-third voice approval, and another one in five are undecided. Additionally, intensity of support is all on the opposition’s side. Over four in 10 (42%) of voters say they “strongly” oppose this effort while, only 23% of Oregonians say they “strongly” support it.

Opposition outpaces support in nearly every major subgroup, with voters under the age of 70, the better educated, Democrats (53%) and Independents (53%) offering the widest margins of opposition making this a tough issue for Democratic legislators to support. Self-identified Republicans make up one of the blocs that support, however, even they can muster only a two point preference for the proposed revision.

Current Oregon law does not require employers to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace. In the upcoming Oregon legislative session, the legislature may consider amending this law to allow employers to fire or not hire medical marijuana patients, regardless of where the use of medical marijuana occurs. Having heard this, do you support or oppose this possible legislative amendment or aren’t you sure?

Opposition also exceeds the majority mark in the Big Five Counties (especially in Multnomah) in the Bend and Medford markets and in CD5. To be clear, opponents outnumber supporters, usually by double-digit margins, in every region of the state. In sum, this is a highly unpopular proposal.

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Dorsett Bennett February 18, 2009 8:17 pm (Pacific time)

In the wonderful black-and-white film from 1963, (To Kill a Mockingbird), small-town lawyer Atticus Finch is explaining to his eight or nine year old daughter why she should make peace with a classmate from a poor family. You obviously do not know anything about living with chronic pain

Dorsett Bennett February 18, 2009 8:31 pm (Pacific time)

Hello J.C. Peery-- There was a cyber screw-up and I did not complete my attempted comment. Atty. Finch in the 1963 film To Kill a Mockingbird, explains to his daughter young daughter, "You really don't know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes." You will obviously never been a victim of long-term chronic pain, nor do you understand much of anything about medical marijuana. I had been writing a series of articles on illegal drugs. I have asked the editor [so far unsuccessfully :-)] to set up an archive of my articles on the staff page. If Tim King will do it, then you can choose to continue to live in your seemingly blissful ignorance, or you could study some materials that may have the effect dragging you into some knowledge, and perhaps, just perhaps, a little empathy.

J. C. Peery February 18, 2009 1:06 pm (Pacific time)

Companies are allowed to fire employees for working under the influence of alcohol so why can't they fire someone under the influence of a drug like marijauna, regardless of whether or not it is used for medicinal purposes?

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