Eugene resident Michael Hirsch said medical marijuana has eased the severe pain, headaches and abdominal cramping that has made daily life difficult after his treatment for an advanced form of prostate cancer.
He said his off-hours use of the drug cost him his job on Wednesday.
Lane County's largest union said it's challenging the county's termination of Hirsch, 60, who had worked as a senior programmer and systems analyst since March.
Hirsch and his union said he was fired for violating the county's drug-free workplace policy even though they say Hirsch used marijuana only outside of work and that it had no effect on his job performance.
A county spokeswoman on Wednesday declined comment on the termination, saying the county does not comment on personnel matters. The spokeswoman, Devon Ashbridge, gave The Register-Guard a copy of the county's drug-free workplace procedure.
Hirsch said his cancer treatment wiped him out financially. With no income, he expects to be out on the street within a month.
"I'm going to end up in a homeless shelter very shortly," he said. "This is a tragedy compounded on another tragedy."
The case underscores the conflict between the growing societal acceptance of marijuana, both for medical and recreational use, and workplace policies that effectively bar its use at all hours.
The use of medical and recreational marijuana is legal in Oregon, but the laws and rules regulating its use have no effect on a company's drug-free policy, attorneys specializing in employment law have said. Lane County has such a policy.
In May, former Eugene television anchor Cyd Maurer was fired from her job for her off-hours recreational use of marijuana.
Hirsch was diagnosed with Stage 3 prostate cancer in 2011. He's free of the cancer after aggressive treatment, including radiation and chemotherapy, but continues to deal with debilitating side effects that he said the marijuana has eased.
Hirsch received a doctor's prescription in August to use marijuana. He said he typically uses it once each evening on weekdays and twice on weekends or days off to ensure that it doesn't interfere with his job performance.
Hirsch said he wasn't using marijuana when Lane County hired him, and he acknowledged reviewing its drug-free policy at the time. He said he didn't notify the county about his use when he got his prescription.
"I thought it was in my best interest to keep it very personal," he said. "This is a private matter that is helping me with these terrible side effects, and it's not affecting my performance."
Hirsch said he tested positive for the presence of marijuana after a co-worker smelled marijuana on his jacket during a training about a month or so ago and reported him.
While alcohol can clear out of an individual's body in a matter of hours, traces of marijuana can be detected by testing days after its use.
Hirsch and his union lawyer presented his medical records during a recent hearing, but the county held firm and notified Hirsch of his termination, effective Wednesday.
The union, which represents about 650 county employees, or more than half of its workforce, plans to file a grievance and fight to get Hirsch reinstated to his job, said Jim Steiner, a representative of AFSCME Local 2831.
Steiner said the county's stance is unfair, in light of how public opinion on the use of marijuana has shifted dramatically in recent years.
"It's outrageous to me that the county did this," he said. "We have fought the county's termination decisions before and won, but among the terminations, this one just doesn't make sense."
Steiner said he's aware of county employees who were cited for drunken driving or use of drugs who were not fired from their jobs.
The county's drug-free workplace procedure bars the use of any controlled substance "prior to reporting to work or during breaks or lunch period."
The procedure notes that state law doesn't require an employer to accommodate the use of medical marijuana in the workplace. It adds that before taking action against an employee for such use, supervisors are required to involve the human resources director "in order to ensure the legality of the action."
It also says the procedure isn't intended to bar the use of a drug taken under a doctor's supervision "where its use is consistent with its prescribed use and does not present a safety hazard or otherwise adversely impact an employee's performance or county operations."
Steiner said union members are setting up an online fundraising account to raise money for Hirsch.
Hirsch said he'll apply for Medicaid, unemployment and food stamp benefits while the union takes up his cause, but the uncertainty is taking an emotional toll.
"I've basically been in a state of panic and having panic attacks," he said.
Follow Christian on Twitter @RGchill . Email christian.hill@registerguard.com .
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