The board of Marion County Public Schools in Florida has suspended a Belleview High School teacher and student services manager over his use of medical cannabis. Mike Hickman, 50, was placed on unpaid leave after the Superintendent of Schools, Heidi Maier, recommended he be fired for testing positive for cannabinoids in early November 2019. Hickman is a registered cannabis patient under Florida’s 2016 medical cannabis law. And a physician licensed under the state’s program to recommend medical cannabis issued Hickman a recommendation for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, which is an approved condition.
Now, Hickman, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the early 1990s, is fighting for his job back—and his livelihood.
Former Marine and High School Dean Placed on Unpaid Leave for Medical Cannabis Use
When a fight broke out between students at Marion County, Florida’s Belleview High on November 5, Mike Hickman did what any teacher would do: he tried to stop it. In the process, Hickman injured his shoulder, kicking off a chain of events that would lead to his suspension and possible dismissal from the Marion County Public School system.
As part of seeking a worker’s compensation claim for the shoulder injury he incurred on the job, Hickman had to see the district’s worker compensation doctor. Virtually every worker’s compensation case requires drug testing employees involved. And the results of Hickman’s urine drug test came back positive for cannabinoids.
The doctor reported the drug test results to the school district, since Marion County Public Schools has a zero-tolerance alcohol and drug-free workplace policy. When School Board superintendent Maier received the report, she issued the recommendation