New Jersey employers would be prohibited from firing people because they participate in the state medical marijuana program unless they can show these employees are impaired and unable to do their jobs, according to a bill approved by a Senate committee Monday.

The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee voted 6-0 with one abstention to release the bill to the full 40-member Senate.

Organizations that helped pass the medical marijuana law nearly six years ago asked for the clarification because a handful of patients have encountered trouble keeping their jobs.

A medical marijuana patient who worked for New Jersey Transit and another employee at Princeton University have lost their jobs because they disclosed they were legally using cannabis, noted Peter Rosenfeld, a member of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey.

A medical marijuana patient, Rosenfeld said he retired in order to avoid legal issues with his job. [Read more at NJ.com]