Worker fired over med pot loses case

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) - A federal appeals court says Michigan law doesn't stop employers from firing people who use medical marijuana.

The court on Wednesday upheld a decision by a federal judge in Grand Rapids, who said Wal-Mart Stores could fire an employee who tested positive for marijuana.

Joseph Casias was an inventory-control manager at a Walmart in Battle Creek until he tested positive for marijuana in 2009. He has a Michigan medical-marijuana card and uses pot to alleviate symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer.

Wal-Mart says marijuana use conflicts with its safety policy in stores.

The appeals court says the state medical marijuana law provides some immunity in criminal cases, but it doesn't offer protection to people in the workplace.