A cannabis job fair hosted by O.penVape in March drew a large crowd to the company's Denver headquarters. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

O.penVape bans drug use at work, Colo. pot industry giant announces

Workers for one of Colorado’s biggest marijuana businesses can be fired for smoking pot on the job or using cocaine at any time.

The employees learned Wednesday of the policy at Denver’s O.penVape, which sells cartridges filled with cannabis oil and other products in Colorado, California and Washington.


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Colorado has legalized the sale and use of marijuana. But under federal law, it is illegal and deemed dangerous, like cocaine. O.penVape, which employs more than 125 people in Colorado, says it sees a distinction between cannabis and other drugs.

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce president Kelly Brough notes lower courts have upheld zero-tolerance workplace policies on drug use. The state Supreme Court is reviewing a case in which a quadriplegic medical-marijuana user is challenging being fired for failing a company drug test.

This story was first published on DenverPost.com