Cannabis Dispensary Illegally Fired Budtender, Labor Board Rules

Arizona’s strict regulatory and licensing requirements for selling medicinal cannabis don’t excuse a dispensary’s illegal termination of a budtender for her union activities, a divided National Labor Relations Board ruled.

Absolute Healthcare, which does business as Curaleaf Arizona, fired Anissa Keane after she was disciplined for mistakes in four transactions, including two cash-handling discrepancies, the NLRB said in its 2-1 ruling Thursday. The company maintains a policy on accurate cash handling to ensure compliance with state regulations.

Curaleaf Arizona sacked Keane, who led union organizing at the dispensary, for her violations. But it waited to fire a co-worker who wasn’t ...