Welcome back to Higher Law, our weekly briefing on all things cannabis. I'm Cheryl Miller, reporting for Law.com from Sacramento. The Oscar for best Hollywood swag bag content went to CBD on Sunday night. CNBC reports that the glitterati at the annual Academy Awards received CBD-infused face cream, bath salts and edibles as well as “a VIP membership to a 'cannabis-friendly' private club in Los Angeles.”

Hopefully the trendy gifts helped soothe the widespread irritation over the Best Picture winner.

This week we look at the perplexingly different rulings courts are handing down on weed in the workplace. Then, no bank? No checks? No problem! California lawmakers want to allow marijuana businesses to pay their taxes in cryptocurrency. Plus, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it's time to talk about CBD-infused food.

Thanks as always for reading. Please keep those story tips and feedback coming. Drop me a line at [email protected] or you can call me at 916-448-2935. Follow me on Twitter at @capitalaccounts.

Workers and Weed: How Courts Are Ruling

With 33 states and the District of Columbia now allowing medical marijuana use, tracking court rulings on weed in the workplace can be like playing Whac-A-Mole. Just when you get a handle on an opinion in one state, another one pops up across the country. And the new case law can be very different.

Here are just three decisions that have been filed within the last six months:

>> Last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals sided with a Lansing utility that rescinded a job offer to a medical-marijuana user who tested positive in a drug screening. The utility denied withdrawing the job because of the drug test. The court said Michigan's medical-marijuana law “does not provide an independent right protecting the medical use of marijuana in all circumstances, nor does it create a protected class for users of medical marijuana.”

>> Earlier this month, a federal judge in Arizona upheld a discrimination claim filed by a Walmart worker and registered medical-marijuana user who said she was fired after failing a drug test. Senior U.S. District Judge James Teilborg wrote that Walmart failed to prove the worker was impaired at work. The judge allowed the discrimination claim to proceed under the state's Medical Marijuana Act but rejected related complaints made under Arizona's civil rights and employment protection laws.

>> Last fall, a Connecticut woman prevailed in her lawsuit against a nursing home that withdrew a job offer after she tested positive for marijuana, which she uses to treat PTSD. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer of the District of Connecticut rejected Bride Brook Health & Rehabilitation Center's argument that, as a federal contractor, it was prohibited from hiring someone who used marijuana outside the workplace.

So how should attorneys counsel wary employers about medical cannabis-using workers?

• “In states that cover medical marijuana patients under disability laws, employers should confirm whether positive drug tests are connected to medicinal use before making employment decisions,” Wilson Elser attorneys Dean Rocco and Noelle Sheehan write. “If a worker seeks an accommodation for medical use, employers can lean on traditional HR practices by ensuring that the employee has the appropriate medical certification and will refrain from on-duty use or otherwise not pose a risk in the workplace.”

• “Employers having federal contracts or whose employees are licensed by federal agencies must have a zero-tolerance policy for marijuana as the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal substance,” Dickinson Wright attorneys advised in a client alert. “Employers should also be aware that use of medical marijuana in some states is protected by applicable disability laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act. And, in some states, including Michigan, medical marijuana users who are terminated as a result of marijuana use remain eligible for unemployment benefits.”

Is 'Stablecoin' a Cannabis Banking Solution? 

Is cryptocurrency the answer to some of the marijuana industry's banking woes? A couple of California lawmakers think it may be.

Assemblyman Phil Ting and Kevin McCarty, two Northern California Democrats, have introduced legislation that would require the state to accept stablecoins as payment for cannabis excise and cultivation taxes. Cities and counties could, but wouldn't be forced to, take stablecoin payments for local cannabis fees.

Stablecoin is digital currency pegged one-to-one, in this case, to the U.S. dollar. State lawmakers' promotion of its use is just another sign of the ongoing troubles marijuana-related businesses have finding reliable, traditional banking services and ditching the cash that dangerously dominates the industry's transactions.

The legislators aren't promoting their bill just yet, a sign that more work is being done behind the scenes and amendments are probably coming. Meanwhile, industry leaders are still pushing for a federal solution through the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, which would provide some safe harbor protections to financial institutions that serve state-licensed marijuana businesses.

In the Weeds…

>> CBD was in focus this week in Congress. Scott Gottlieb (above), commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Wednesday in testimony on Capitol Hill that the agency is preparing to announce a public meeting—sometime in April—that will address CBD in food products. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, who is pressing for legal pathways for sales of CBD products, said “there is some sense of urgency” around the issue. “We're deeply focused on this,” Gottlieb said. [CNBC] Business Insider has more here.

>> MedMen is being sued by its former chief financial officer. In a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, James Parker says he was forced out of the cannabis retailing giant in November for complaining about questionable corporate activities, such as excessive personal spending by executives, efforts to prop up stock prices and allowing a hostile work environment. MedMen co-founder Adam Bierman told the Los Angeles Times the lawsuit is “a meritless claim that will lose in court.” Parker is represented by Fagelbaum & Heller in Los Angeles. [Los Angeles Times]

>> Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says “it would be great to have clarity” on banking marijuana-related businesses. Powell told a U.S. Senate committee that the current conflict between federal law and state-licensed cannabis puts financial institutions in a very difficult place and puts the supervisors in a difficult place, too. It would be nice to have clarity on that supervisory relationship.” [CNBC]

>> Home grows would be banned under proposed New York recreational regs. That's what cannabis companies wanted. Marijuana Moment obtained a 29-page memo, written by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, that urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to outlaw home cultivation, citing a loss of tax revenues among other reasons. Members of the association include MedMen, Etain and Acreage NY. That ban appeared in the budget Cuomo proposed in January. [Marijuana Moment]

>> Will Colorado drop its prohibition on publicly traded companies holding marijuana licenses? The legislature is considering a bill to do just that. It's about time, said Dean Heizer, the executive director and chief legal strategist of cannabis retailer LivWell. “We need to get back on the wagon, and we need to get enough capital so that we can actually start driving the wagon again,” Heizer said. “We are falling behind.” [Colorado Public Radio]

>> Marijuana attorneys, Michigan is looking for you. The state is seeking four groups of volunteers to help write regulations that will govern the future recreational market. One of those groups will comprise attorneys ”who represent marijuana establishments who have an interest in the adult-use market.” Although voters approved recreational marijuana last fall, regulated sales are not expected to start until 2020 when rules are in place. Applications from interested attorneys are due by March 4. [Detroit Free Press]

The Calendar: What's Next

March 2-3: The Green Grow Expo will be held in Oklahoma City. Expected speakers include Rachel Bussett of Bussett Legal Group in Oklahoma City and Steve Schain, senior attorney at Hoban Law Group.

March 5: The symposium ”Cannabis Law: Policy, Economics and Social Advocacy” will be held at the University Club in Pittsburgh. Scheduled speakers include Kossovsky Law founder Cátia Kossovsky of Pennsylvania and Matthew Abel, senior partner at Cannabis Counsel and executive director of Michigan NORML.

March 6: Lauren Estevez, founder of LME Law in Los Angeles, and Derek Davis, CPA and founder of GreenGrowth CPAs, host the webinar ” Learn About LA's Phase 3 Cannabis Business Application Process.”