The Marion School Board voted to terminate Mike Hickman after he tested positive for marijuana. Hickman is a Marine veteran and was prescribed medical marijuana to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and alleviate pain.
The board voted 5-0 to fire Hickman saying that although medical marijuana is legal in Florida, it is illegal at a federal level, and its use violates district policy. He failed to tell his supervisor he was using it. Hickman was offered a paid suspension if he agreed not to smoke marijuana, but he refused the offer.
Hickman was a 10-year employee.
“It is just another unfortunate decision handed down by the Marion Country School Board to fire yet another good employee,” said Hickman’s attorney, Mark Herdman.
Executive Director with the Marion County teachers union, Chris Altobello said that Hickman “was no more impaired than someone who took an aspirin for a headache. They implied that this is tantamount to smoking pot in the boy’s bathroom.”
The Superintendent’s attorney, Mark Levitt, sided with the school district saying that they could not allow his military service to cloud their judgment and that Hickman was given the option to return to his job if he agreed to stop using marijuana.
