Judge: Company discriminated against medical marijuana user

A judge has ruled against a Rhode Island textile company accused of discriminating against a woman when she was denied an internship because she uses medical marijuana to treat migraine headaches.

The Superior Court judge's decision released Tuesday found that the Westerly-based Darlington Fabrics Corp. had violated the state's Hawkins-Slater Medical Marijuana Act, which prevents discrimination against card-carrying medical marijuana users.

The complaint said Christine Callaghan, who was a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island, negotiated a paid internship with Darlington Fabrics in 2014 but lost it after disclosing she held a medical marijuana card.

The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island.

Neither Darlington Fabrics nor its lawyer returned a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.