Starbucks employee fired for using medically prescribed and non-intoxicating CBD

A Halifax barista fired after vaping medically prescribed cannabis during a work break hopes to start a conversation around the issue so workers in similar situations don’t face the same fate.

Theodore Misseri, 26, started working at the Kaye Street Starbucks in Halifax in May of 2022. He described the workplace as fun, inclusive, and queer and trans-friendly. As a transgender man who had experienced transphobia working other jobs, this was a welcome change. He loved his job, the workplace, and the customers.

On Dec. 18, he said he was pulled aside by the store’s manager and a district manager. A co-worker told them that several months before, Misseri had used cannabis during a break.

Misseri, who used medically prescribed cannabis to deal with chronic pain, said he readily admitted to the co-worker that he’d vaped offsite. While it wasn’t something he did regularly; he said it was an extra long shift and he was in a lot of pain. Because his CBD prescription didn’t cause impairment, he never imagined it would be an issue.

That’s why he wasn’t overly concerned when managers asked to speak with him about it in the cafe on Dec. 18.

“I said, yes, and that it was a medical prescription. I said I’m happy to bring my prescription in, and if I can’t continue my use like that, I can figure out how to do it outside of work hours. Finding an accommodation of some sort,” Misseri said in an interview. 

“They just said ‘This could be a really serious, a final warning or separation situation,’ which is their terminology for termination or getting fired. Then they made me wait just over Christmas…It just felt horrible not knowing whether I was going to get to keep my job or not.”

Fired in the middle of the cafe

On Dec. 30, Misseri showed up for what he thought would be a shift. Instead, he said he was fired in front of everyone who happened to be there.

“They fired me, right in the middle of the cafe. And I’m hard of hearing, so they couldn’t whisper. I had to have them speak up at least a little bit,” Misseri said. “It was not great…I’m sad that I didn’t get to say goodbye (to regular customers), honestly. There’s so many folks that I miss so, so deeply that were a part of my regular routine.”

Misseri said he was told his termination had nothing to do with his performance and was solely based on the fact that he’d used cannabis while on a shift. 

“I asked, ‘Did anyone come forward about my behaviour? Anything I did? The way I was acting, anything like that? And they said ‘No, no, you’re a great performer. Nothing like that. It’s because someone said that you had, and you said that you did it,’” Misseri said. 

“I felt confused because I was honest, I wanted to provide the prescription, and I wasn’t even given the chance to. I was just fired immediately and lost my benefits immediately, because they only go to the end of the month and I was fired on the 30th.”

His termination letter states that his employment was terminated “as a result of violation of Starbucks’ drug and alcohol policy.”

CBD vs THC

Cannabis contains hundreds of chemical substances, and more than 100 of those are cannabinoids. 

A Health Canada information page describes cannabinoids as created and stored in the plant’s trichomes — tiny, clear hairs sticking out from the plant’s leaves and flowers. Cannabinoids affect the body and brain’s cell receptors, changing how the cells behave and communicate with each other. 

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most researched cannabinoid, causing what many recognize as the characteristic cannabis high/intoxication. 

But unlike THC, the cannabinoid known as cannabidiol (CBD) “does not produce a high or intoxication.” 

Misseri said he’s frustrated that he wasn’t given an opportunity to provide documentation or given a second chance, especially since his prescription was CBD-based. 

“It felt like all they (Starbucks) could say was ‘Well, our policy is no cannabis.’ It didn’t feel like there was anything beyond saying that,” Misseri said.

In a Jan. 3, 2024 letter intended to support Misseri in appealing the termination, his primary care provider noted that “the risk of impairment on his current CBD dose is exceedingly low and would be very unlikely to interfere with his ability to do his job safely.” The letter also said Misseri would no longer be using CBD for pain management, and would instead focus on other methods of pain control. 

‘These decisions are not taken lightly’

Earlier this week, the Examiner called the Starbucks on Kaye Street. The manager had no comment, but provided contact information for the corporation’s public relations office.

In an emailed statement referring to Misseri’s case, a Starbucks spokesperson said: 

We can confirm that following a careful investigation we found this partner in clear violation of policy. These decisions are not taken lightly and Starbucks takes appropriate action, including separation from employment, when we confirm policy violations.

(Starbucks calls its employees ‘partners,’ but they have no ownership stake in the company.)

Previous accommodations made for his disability 

Misseri said he was especially confused because his employer had previously accommodated his disability without issue. He pointed to his inability to lift heavy items as an example.

“They’ve known that my disability affects other areas of my work and they’ve had accommodations…It’s not something that I formally had to go through paperwork with Starbucks with those things, because I’ve just had really accommodating co-workers and management and supervisors,” he said.

“They’ve just said ‘Oh, of course, yeah. You can’t do that thing. Let’s get someone else to do it and we’ll get you to do something else.’ It’s always been extremely accommodating in terms of that. That’s something that I’ve lacked in a lot of other workplaces, so it feels very confusing because they very much knew that I have pain management that I deal with.”

Co-workers ‘in shock’

In an interview with the Examiner, one of Misseri’s former co-workers described him as an exemplary employee. Fearing repercussions, the worker asked to not be identified. 

“While my job realistically is not in jeopardy if I speak up about this specifically, there is that fear that if I do, they might try to find something else to fire me for,” the employee said. “Because if it was that easy for him (Misseri) to be let go, what other ways can they find for other people to not be there?”

The employee said they and other staff at the cafe are upset.

“I’m still very much in shock that it happened, because he never had any write-ups previous to that. It makes me angry,” the co-worker said. “I think it’s very ableist of them to be firing somebody over something like that.”

The worker also said shortly after the termination, management told employees that out of respect for Misseri, no one was to talk about his dismissal.  

“But I feel like if anything, you should. Because this came out of left field. Everybody was like, ‘What? How did that happen?’ It’s a big shock to our team because we are very close knit,” the worker said.

“Everybody knew Theo and loved him. He was a really great part of the team. We have such a solid team, and I think that’s why a lot of us are saying ‘This is wrong. We need to do something about it.’”

Although they can’t discuss the situation while at work, the employee said some team members have been brainstorming ways to help him.

“It’s just such an unfair situation, and there should be a level of transparency about things like this,” the worker said.

‘Tiptoeing around on eggshells’

A second employee who also spoke under the condition of anonymity said that in addition to his normal shifts, Misseri was working towards a much-coveted Starbucks black apron. 

The change from a green to a black apron indicates a barista has completed the coffee chain’s ‘coffee master’ program. On its website, the company describes the program and its black aprons as “a special designation for partners around the world who are experts in coffee knowledge.” 

“He had almost completed it. So that also made it very, very surprising for other employees who didn’t know when they found out that he was terminated,” the worker said. “Because he was such an exemplary employee and was doing even more to become better.”

The worker described the current employee work environment as one of “unease and uncertainty,” adding that many feel like they’re “tiptoeing around on eggshells” due to a “significant lack of trust.”

“I used to enjoy coming to work. Now I feel uneasy and a little bit anxious the whole time,” the employee said.

‘They need to make room for nuance’

The worker said although some employees discussed ways to draw attention to Misseri’s plight — things like a walkout, or reaching out to corporate head office — many are hesitant to take action for fear of backlash. 

They were also deeply upset by the decision to fire him in the cafe and not in a private room.

“Theo was very put together about it and able to control his emotional response. But I know that I wouldn’t be able to,” the worker said. “The thought of being fired in front of our regular customers and having to deal with that emotion publicly in front of people that I am around every day and have a connection with is very frightening.”

The worker said they also found it alarming that instead of making an accommodation or asking Misseri to find other pain management medication, “they went straight to termination.” 

“They need to change their policies to make room for nuance and to treat their employees with the amount of compassion that they claim to,” the worker said. “This has affected my view of the company so much that I am now very certain that I need to find other employment.” 

Cannabis and the workplace

A 2018 Nova Scotia Human Rights information sheet titled ‘Cannabis and the Workplace: A Primer to Employer and Employee Rights’ notes that like with any other intoxicating substance, employees in safety sensitive positions are obligated to inform their employer if they’re using a medication that could be intoxicating or impair their cognitive functioning. 

“However, the employee does not have to disclose that it is cannabis as an employer has a duty to accommodate the employee to the point of undue hardship regardless of the type of intoxicating/impairing medication,” the guide notes.

The guide also mentions that an employee using medically prescribed cannabis that doesn’t contain THC but does contain CBD “does not have an obligation to disclose his/her use to his/her employer as long as it does not intoxicate or impair the employee.”

“This non-reporting requirement would be similar to an employee who is utilizing anti-inflammatory medication such as naproxen, etc.,” the guide says.

Still some confusion around medical cannabis

In a conversation with the Examiner about medically prescribed cannabis in the workplace in general (and not specific to Misseri’s case), labour lawyer David Wallbridge with Halifax law firm Pink Larkin said accommodating it in the workplace should be relatively straightforward. 

Once cannabis is prescribed by a qualified health care provider, Wallbridge said it shouldn’t be treated any differently than other medications prescribed for illness or injury. He said many prescribed medications — not just cannabis — have the potential to cause impairment and create issues. 

“There is still probably some degree of apprehension around cannabis, but I think it’s subsiding a bit, at least when it comes to medical cannabis,” Wallbridge said. 

“But I also think there’s still some confusion around it. People hear ‘cannabis’ and they think, ‘Well, that makes people high.’ But of course…there can be cannabis with all THC, there can be cannabis with CBD, and there’s different degrees of impairment or maybe no impairment at all that result.”

Advice for employees

In most cases, whether it’s explicit or implicit, Wallbridge said employers have an expectation that an employee will be fit to perform their duties and not be impaired.

When prescribed medication for an illness or injury, his advice is that employees have a conversation with their treatment provider about potential side effects. If impairment is a possibility, Wallbridge advises people to raise it with their employer.

From a practical perspective, the last thing an employee would want to do is show up to work, appear impaired, and then have their employer, without knowing it, just think that you’re showing up impaired because of some recreational use, and then you end up in a situation where you’re disciplined or even terminated, unfortunately.

While he advises being transparent with an employer about any medical prescription that could cause impairment, Wallbridge stressed that employees don’t need to disclose what the specific medication is.

Accommodating a disability

Wallbridge said employers do have a legal obligation to accommodate a disability, adding that it requires cooperation from the employee, employer, and, if the workplace is unionized, the union.

If it (prescription medication) is going to cause some impairment, and it’s related to an illness or an injury that would be a disability, the obligation on the employee then would be to raise that and say, ‘You know, I’m taking this medication. It could cause me some side effects. These are what the side effects are, and that I’m taking it because I have a disability.’ Then that would, from the employer’s perspective, trigger their obligations under the Human Rights Act to accommodate up to the point of undue hardship.

What constitutes undue hardship depends on the person’s job and the degree of impairment caused by the medication. Wallbridge said in a case where it may result in occasional drowsiness, for example, there may be no work environment accommodations or changes needed.

However, if the nature of their work means drowsiness could be a health and safety issue, Wallbridge said that person’s duties may need adjusting to make the workplace safe and healthy for everyone.

Although it’s a dynamic and variable concept, Wallbridge said it’s also important to note that undue hardship doesn’t mean no hardship at all.

“It means you need to make every reasonable effort to do as much as you can so that the person can continue at work, that it doesn’t substantially interfere with the business,” he said.

Disheartened by the timing

While he hasn’t yet filled out the paperwork, Misseri said he has spoken to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission about his situation.

He hopes his story raises awareness so other workers who require medically prescribed cannabis don’t have the same thing happen to them.

Although Misseri has been considering an appeal of his termination and misses his job, co-workers, and customers, he doesn’t think it would “ever be the same again.” He said he’s also unsure he would feel safe returning.

“It’s hard to imagine not returning, but also it’s not going to be as it was,” he said.

He’s also disheartened by the timing. In a few weeks, Misseri is headed to Montreal for gender-affirming surgery.

“I was really, really excited about this time leading up to my surgery. It’s something I’ve waited for my whole life, so it’s a surgery I don’t want to move…That’s definitely been really, really heartbreaking and difficult throughout all of this,” he said.

“It has taken my attention, my funds. EI has not come through because I was dismissed on misconduct. So there’s just a lot that has to be reviewed.”