Every maze should have a beginning and an end. The beginning of the medical marijuana maze is fairly uncomplicated. The use, manufacturing, possession, and sale of marijuana is illegal under federal law under the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §801 et. seq.). Despite the illegality concerning marijuana under federal law, New Jersey passed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (N.J.S.A 24:6I-1 et seq.) (NJCUMMA).

NJCUMMA provides protection from arrest, prosecution, property forfeiture, criminal and other penalties by the State of New Jersey for those patients who use medicinal marijuana to alleviate suffering from certain medical conditions, as well as their physicians, primary caregivers, and those who are authorized to produce, process and dispense marijuana for medicinal purpose. However, despite the protections found in NJCUMMA, the law lacks a provision requiring employers to accommodate the use of medical marijuana, stating that “[n]othing in [the CUMMA] shall be construed to require … an employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace.” As a result, the following cases ensued.