by Paul Elias, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — When Gary Ross was ordered to take a drug test at his new job, the recently hired computer tech had no doubt the results would come back positive for marijuana.

It didn‘t: Ross was let go eight days into his tenure because his employer, Ragingwire Inc., said federal law makes marijuana illegal no matter the use.

Ross, 45, contends that Ragingwire discriminated against him because of a back injury and violated the state‘s fair-employment law by punishing him for legally smoking marijuana at home.

Eleven other states, including Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state have adopted similar laws and many are now grappling with the same sticky workplace issue of employee use of medicinal marijuana.

"It‘s an extremely widespread problem," said Joe Elford, the group‘s chief lawyer.

Ross, who lives in Sacramento, said he permanently injured his back in 1983 while serving as a U.S. Air Force mechanic. He said it wasn‘t until 1999 that he found true pain relief with marijuana.

"I think I‘m standing up for everybody else," Ross said. "My motivation is that I don‘t like to lose and that medical marijuana is effective."

Two lower courts have sided with Ragingwire‘s decision to fire Ross because federal law holds that marijuana is illegal in all guises and a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision declared that state medicinal marijuana laws don‘t protect users from criminal prosecution.

Ragingwire, a small telecommunications company in Sacramento, has been joined in the Supreme Court by powerful corporate interests such as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Western Electrical Contractors Association Inc., who said companies could lose federal contracts and grants if they allowed employees to smoke pot.

"History abounds with cases of employers found liable," the Sacramento-based foundation wrote, "because their employees were driving vehicles, operating heavy equipment or otherwise performing tasks made more dangerous by their being under the influence of alcohol or drugs."