Employment Discrimination - Fire and Rescue Public Safety Employees - Use of Medical Cannabis
HB 797 prohibits employers from discriminating against fire and rescue public safety employees who use medical cannabis, provided they have a valid written certification from a licensed healthcare provider under Maryland's medical cannabis program. The bill modifies existing law to clarify that an employer cannot take adverse employment actions (like termination or denial of promotion) solely due to medical cannabis use, as long as the employee meets the state's certification requirements. It updates definitions in Maryland law to ensure fire and rescue employees qualify for the same protections as other medical cannabis patients under the existing program. The law does not override workplace safety rules or require employers to accommodate cannabis use during work hours.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 4, 2026
Last action Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
First - Employment Discrimination - Fire and Rescue Public Safety Employees - Use of Medical Cannabis
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Third - Employment Discrimination - Fire and Rescue Public Safety Employees - Use of Medical Cannabis
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2 edits
MINOR
The bill text was reorganized to insert new definitions for 'Certifying provider' and 'Qualifying patient' into the existing medical cannabis law, while simultaneously renumbering and reformatting the definitions for 'Disability' and 'Employee' to align with the bill's new structure. These changes appear to be technical formatting updates and structural reorganization rather than substantive policy shifts, as the actual legal definitions of these terms remain identical to the previous version.
TECHNICAL
The bill's internal numbering and section headers were restructured, moving the 'Certifying provider' and 'Qualifying patient' definitions to the beginning of the medical cannabis title and renumbering the 'Disability' and 'Employee' sections.
Formatting markers and explanatory notes regarding how amendments are displayed in the text were updated to reflect the new bill version.
Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 17, 2026
How they voted
101–31
Passed · 10 other
Total votes 142
Mar 17, 2026
D
Democratic103
93% Yea
R
Republican39
79% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
11
Key actions
5
Committee
6
Apr 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Report by Finance
upper
Apr 10, 2026
Committee
Rereferred to Finance
upper
Apr 3, 2026
Committee
Referred Rules
upper
Apr 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Apr 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
lower
Apr 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable Report by Economic Matters
lower
Mar 17, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (101-31-10)
house of delegates
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
First Reading Economic Matters
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Adrian Boafo
DDemocratic
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