Washington's 1st Legal Pot Buyer Got Canned

Mike Boyer says his boss made him take a drug test, which he failed
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 10, 2014 11:53 AM CDT
Washington's 1st Legal Pot Buyer Got Canned
Mike Boyer turns to the crowd outside, showing off the 4 grams of marijuana he bought as the first in line to legally purchase marijuana at Spokane Green Leaf, Tuesday, July 8, 2014, in Spokane, Wash.   (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Dan Pelle)

Mike Boyer made history on Tuesday in his tie-dye as the first person to legally buy recreational marijuana in Spokane, Wash. Less than 48 hours later, Boyer tells KREM 2 News, he was out of a job. The security guard says that after making his 4-gram purchase at a local pot shop, he was (willingly) followed home by a KREM team so it could interview and film him enjoying his first toke. Someone recognized him on TV and called his employer, Labor Ready. Boyer says that he quickly got a text message from his boss demanding he come in within 24 hours and take a drug test. He failed after it came up positive for THC, reports the New York Daily News.

Boyer admits to the Daily News that he signed an employment contract with Labor Ready that said he wouldn’t have THC in his system, though he adds, “I don’t smoke at work!” He’s definitely not alone in his eagerness to capture some Kush: Colorado is already selling more than 10 tons of pot a month for both medicinal and recreational purposes, according to a post-legalization study cited in Time magazine. As for Boyer, he’s already on the hunt for a new job (maybe in the marijuana industry, he jokes) and tells the Daily News he wouldn’t change a thing. “I don’t regret [buying the marijuana]," he says. "I’m sad [I got fired], but I got the title: I’m No. 1. I regret nothing." (More Mike Boyer stories.)

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