Caught in a haze: Woman fired for smoking pot while off the job

METHUEN, Mass. - A Methuen woman has been fired for doing something that is now perfectly legal in the state of Massachusetts - smoking marijuana on her down time.

Much alike a beer or glass of wine at the end of the day, many Massachusetts residents have since turned to cannabis to relax after a long day.

"I found that if I took two puffs off my vape pen, I was relaxed," said Bernadette Coughlin.

Recreational use of the drug has been legalized in the state since 2016, but there is still no law that protects people when it comes to their job.

Coughlin says she is now working with federal and state lawmakers to change that.

It all started back in May, when the 55-year-old Patient Services Manager at Holy Family Hospital was seriously injured after accidentally falling at work.

"I broke my wrist and my elbow," said Coughlin.

Coughlin was prompted to take a drug test, which she failed because she had vaped days before the test while off work.

Since THC, one of the main components in cannabis, is stored in your fat cells, it takes a while for the drug to completely leave your system if you're a regular user. That means that a drug test will detect marijuana in your system whether you've smoked in the past couple of hours or if you smoked two days ago.

"I would never approve of anybody being high at work, that's ridiculous," said Coughlin.

Days later, Coughlin's employer, a food services contractor named Sodexo, told her she had been suspended and then fired because the multinational company adheres to federal law, under which pot is still illegal, unlike Massachusetts.

"What I kept saying to my boss was, 'I haven't done anything wrong, I didn't do anything wrong, it's legal,'" said Coughlin.

The dilemma has now reached lawmakers in Beacon Hill, where Senator Pat Jehlan said:

"I know several senators are interested in learning more about this situation. Once we know all the details of what happened, we’ll examine how the legislature might be able to address the issue.”  

"The law needs to change, otherwise people are going to get hurt," said Coughlin.

Along with her husband, Coughlin will be heading to D.C. next month to lobby lawmakers.

A Sodexo spokesperson told Boston 25 News they follow the law but recognize this is an evolving issue, so they're evaluating their policies.

Coughlin is currently tied up in a wrongful termination arbitration to get her job back.

Cox Media Group