People applying to be first responders in Austin, Texas will no longer need to disclose their prior marijuana use following a push by advocates to get the policy change enacted. Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) revised the employment policy late last month after members of Texas NORML and the local EMS union called attention to the issue and sent nearly 3,000 letters to City Council members advocating for a change. “That question [about cannabis use within the past three years] and the associated disqualifier has been removed from both the application for employment and our EMSRecruiting.org website,” an ATCEMS spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Monday. The local EMS union said that the reform was all the more appropriate given that the legislature passed a bill earlier this year that expanded the state’s limited medical cannabis program to include post-traumatic stress disorder in the list of qualifying conditions. “Due to COVID-19 and the nature of EMS work, many of our first responders have PTSD,” Austin EMS Association President Selena Xie said in a press release. Jax Finkel, executive director of Texas NORML, told Marijuana Moment that the organization “was proud to team up with Austin first responders to push back on hiring practices that discriminate against legal cannabis consumption.” “The NORML community in Austin raised their voices and got this done so we can focus on public safety,” she said.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 11/16/2021 10:36:00