A New Jersey business does not have to waive its requirement for mandatory drug testing for a worker who uses medical marijuana, a federal court has ruled.

Daniel Cotto Jr. of Bridgeton had sued Ardagh Glass citing the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination after the company wouldn’t allow him to return to his job unless he submitted to breathalyzer and urine screenings.

Ardagh asked that Cotto’s suit be dismissed, an action which was granted by Judge Robert B. Kugler sitting in U.S. District Court in Camden.

“New Jersey law does not require private employers to waive drug tests for users of medical marijuana,” Kugler wrote.

The judge also noted “unless expressly provided for by statue, most courts have concluded that the decriminalization of medical marijuana does not shield employees from adverse employment actions.”

Cotto said in his suit he had worked for Ardagh in Bridgeton as a forklift operator since February 2011.

When he was hired, he told officials there he was taking Percocet, Gabapentin and using medical marijuana — all prescribed by a doctor — to treat pain from a 2007 injury he had suffered, Cotto’s suit said.

There was no indication in court documents whether Cotto was required to submit to a drug test at that time. [Read more @ NJ.com]