I’ll go to pot with no medical weed
EMT with Crohn’s disease sues ‘in a bubble’ FDNY
An FDNY EMT plans to sue the city for trying to snuff out his medical marijuana prescription — which he says he needs to treat a painful medical ailment, the Daily News has learned.
Benjamin Lerich, 26, says the Fire Department has threatened his career if he insists on using pot prescribed to him to treat Crohn’s disease. The emergency medical technician says he wants to use the weed only when going to bed to help deal with the chronic gut ailment and has no intention of showing up to work high.
But the FDNY, Lerich says, can’t get past its retrograde concepts about weed.
“They envision this ‘Cheech & Chong’ thing in their heads. I just want to be able to sleep comfortably at night and I want to go to work,” Lerich said.
“The Fire Department is living in a bubble when it comes to medical marijuana. It’s the same as if you asked someone in the 1960s their view on medical marijuana. How are we still having this conversation?”
Lerich filed a notice of claim last month announcing his intention to sue the city for $5 million.
“The city, in this instance the Fire Department, has proven unwilling to accept the changes in law related to medical marijuana,” Lerich’s attorney John Scola said. “City employees like Benjamin shouldn’t have to suffer while safer medicinal options are available to them.”
Lerich’s predicament is rooted in conflicts between state law that has legalized medical marijuana and federal law, which has not. Any government agency receiving federal money, such as the FDNY, must comply with the federal Drug Free Workplace Act. Workers in safety-sensitive jobs across the country generally face additional restrictions, such as regular drug tests.
But Scola says there’s little legal precedent for Lerich’s claims due to evolving medical marijuana laws.
“The case law hasn’t been developed yet,” Scola said.
Lerich says he loves his job, which involves answering 911 calls and entering data that are then relayed to a dispatcher who calls an ambulance. Since starting in 2019, he’s given CPR instructions that saved lives.
But he was placed on limited duty in January after informing FDNY doctors he’d received the medical marijuana prescription following a Crohn’s-related health emergency.
Lerich slammed the FDNY’s decision to pull the alarm on his herbal medicine as blatant hypocrisy. First responders are routinely prescribed opiates for chronic pain and benzodiazepines to treat posttraumatic stress. Both are powerful drugs that can lead to addiction.
“Common sense needs to prevail. We need people with common sense to say marijuana is safer than benzos or opiates,” Lerich said. “You don’t need to be a genius to know this. Studies and science support it. The average person knows marijuana is safer.”
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause crippling stomach pain and other gut problems. Medical marijuana has long been recognized as an effective treatment.
Lerich said weed helps settle his stomach before bed and reduces overnight incontinence. His four-year battle with stomach ailments has resulted in several surgeries, a monthlong stay in the hospital and the complete removal of his colon.
The Fire Department’s legal office did not respond to an inquiry. The city Law Department does not comment on notices of claim.
While on limited duty, the FDNY has given Lerich has a temporary role doing data entry at a city-run coronavirus vaccination site. But he is no longer getting overtime while on limited duty — and the department has made clear his job is threatened if he continues to use the prescription, he says.
“They’re telling me, when this [pandemic] ends we don’t know what we’re gonna do with you,” he said of his shaky future with the department. “This is my life, my career. I’d like a better answer than that.”