Brandon Coats arrives at his attorney's office on June 15, 2015, the day the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed lower courts' rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of medical marijuana — even if it’s off-duty. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post file)

Video: Why medical marijuana patients should step up as advocates

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled earlier this month in the Coats vs. Dish Network case that medical marijuana patients are subject to their employers’ drug policies and can be fired for off-duty marijuana use.

On a recent episode of The Cannabist Show, Brandon Coats, who filed the lawsuit against his former employer, talks about his personal situation and gives advice for other medical marijuana patients, including taking an active role in advocating for law reform and social change.

“In my case, I can’t function without it. If I don’t have it … just getting out of bed, it would be hard to get out of bed. When I was in bed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Coats says in the above video.

Coats was rendered a quadriplegic by a car accident and uses marijuana to control leg spasms.

“Just because I need a medicine, that shouldn’t mean I can’t work,” Coats says.

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