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 DENVER -- The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed Monday a lower courts' rulings to uphold the firing of an employee for using medical marijuana while not on duty. 
 
 The case involved Dish Network employee Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic who smoked marijuana at home to control seizures. Coats failed a random drug test in 2010 and Dish, citing its zero-tolerance policy of drug use, fired him. 
 
 "If we're going to allow people to smoke marijuana are we just not going to allow them to work?" Coats said. 
 
 Coats sued, but lost at trial court, the Colorado Court of Appeals and now the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled 6-0 that Dish had the right to fire him. 
 
 Brandon's attorney said Colorado has the strongest marijuana laws there are, but that is where his case ends. 
 
 "I wouldn't be able to actually work if I didn't have it. I'd be sitting there going (shaking body) you know, who can work like that? I can't even sleep like that," he said. 
 
 Though Brandon still can't find a job, he said it's now his mission to convince legislators to protect his medical needs along with his wants 
 
 "I want to be able to work one day. I want society to be able to change for me to be able to work one day," Coats said. 
 
 RELATED: State Supreme Court Ruling in Coats vs. Dish Network 
 
 "The supreme court holds that under the plain language of section 24-34-402.5, C.R.S. (2014), Colorado's 'lawful activities statute,' the term 'lawful' refers only to those activities that are lawful under both state and federal law. Therefore, employees who engage in an activity such as medical marijuana use that is permitted by state law but unlawful under federal law are not protected by the statute. We therefore affirm the court of appeals’ opinion," the court wrote in its ruling. 
 
 "This is a sad day for Colorado medical marijuana patients, who have now have no protection for off-duty use of medical or recreational marijuana," the Cannabis Therapy Institute said in a statement. "Patients have no protection for their use of medical marijuana as far as employment goes. The lesson is -- just because a ballot initiative purports itself to be in favor of patients or 'legalization' of medical marijuana, doesn't mean that it actually protects patients." 

 DENVER - The Colorado Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday affirming a lower court's decision to uphold the firing of an employee for using medical marijuana off-duty. 
 
 "Employees who engage in an activity such as medical marijuana use that is permitted by state law but unlawful under federal law are not protected by the (lawful activities statute)," the justices concluded. 
 
 The case involved 35-year-old Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana patient who was fired from his job at the Dish Network after failing a drug test in 2010. Coats said he needed the drug to help with violent spasms and seizures he has suffered since he was paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident. 
 
 Coats told 7NEWS his spasms weren't little twitches, they were violent spasms. 
 
 "My doctor recommended marijuana, and it was like a miracle. My spasms went away almost completely," said Coats. 
 
 Coats said he didn't use marijuana at work and wasn't accused of being high on the job. 
 
 Coats said he received high praise for his job performance in his third year at Dish until the company conducted a random, saliva-based drug test and fired him. 
 
 Dish said that because pot is still illegal federally, medical marijuana is not a lawful activity covered by a state law intended to protect cigarette smokers from being fired for legal behavior off the clock. The trial court, Court of Appeals at State Supreme Court all agreed with that interpretation. 
 
 "Having decided this case on the basis of the prohibition under federal law, we decline to address the issue of whether Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Amendment deems medical marijuana use 'lawful' by conferring a right to such use," the State Supreme Court wrote. 
 
 Dish issued a statement that said, "Dish is committed to its drug-free workplace policy and compliance with federal law, which does not permit the use of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes." 
 
 "It we are going to pass laws making medical marijuana legal, we need to address the issues that go along with it," Coats said. "I have been unemployed for five years and fighting this lawsuit. It's been rough, but it's been worth it. I would do it all again." 
 
 Coats said he now plans to advocate for new laws protecting people like him. 
 
 The legal community said the case was being closely watched by other states as a precedent-setting measure. 
 
 "I think employers feel like it's a victory," said Whitney Traylor, an assistant professor of employment law at Metro State University of Denver. "It expands their rights, and there is no longer a grey area. It clarifies their rights to act autonomously and terminate employees who violate their drug policy." 

 Lawyer for Dish Network employee fired after using medical pot to treat muscle spasms calls ruling "devastating" 
 
 Employers' zero-tolerance drug policies trump Colorado's medical marijuana laws, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday. 
 
 In a 6-0 decision, the high court affirmed lower court rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of medical marijuana — even if it's off-duty. 
 
 With the ruling, which was a blow to some medical marijuana patients and a sigh of relief to employers, Colorado became the first state to provide guidance on a gray area of the law. 
 
 The decision came nine months after the state's highest court heard oral arguments in Brandon Coats' case against Dish Network. Coats became quadriplegic in a car accident and used marijuana to control leg spasms. He had a medical marijuana card and consumed pot off-duty. He was fired in 2010 after failing a random drug test. 
 
 Brandon Coats listens as his attorney talks Monday about his case. Coats said he is disappointed in the state Supreme Court ruling that businesses can fire employees for the use of marijuana even if it's for medical purposes and even if it's done off-duty. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post) 
 
 Coats, who was a customer service representative for Dish, challenged the Douglas County satellite TV company's zero-tolerance drug policy, claiming that his use was legal under state law. His firing had been upheld in both trial court and the Colorado Court of Appeals. 
 
 DOCUMENT: Colorado Supreme Court affirms ruling 
 
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 When the case went to the state Supreme Court, legal observers said the case could have significant implications for employers across Colorado. They noted that the ruling also could be precedent-setting as Colorado and other states wrangle with adapting laws to a nascent industry that is illegal under federal law. 
 
 At the crux of the issue was whether the use of medical marijuana — which is in compliance with Colorado's Medical Marijuana Amendment — was "lawful" under the state's Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute. 
 
 That term, the justices said, refers to activities lawful under both state and federal law. 
 
 "Therefore, employees who engage in an activity, such as medical marijuana use, that is permitted by state law but unlawful under federal law are not protected by the statute," Justice Allison H. Eid wrote in the opinion. 
 
 Current Colorado law allows employers to set their own policies on drug use. 
 
 Coats' attorney Michael Evans, of Centennial-based The Evans Group, called the decision "devastating." 
 
 He said he does not plan to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 
 
 "You need the Colorado Supreme Court to stand up for its own laws," he said. "The U.S. Supreme Court is not going to do that." 
 
 Resolution at last 
 
 On Monday, Coats and his mother, Donna Scharfenberg, spent all morning refreshing the Colorado Supreme Court's website. When they finally read the ruling, there was 10 minutes of silence. 
 
 "It was just kind of shocking," Coats said. "There was a silent moment there for a long while." 
 
 It was a disappointing resolution to what has been a five-year battle for Coats, who is unemployed. 
 
 "This is a controversial issue," he said. "This is a hard case, and it was going to be a hard case to win. I was definitely hoping it would go the other way around. 
 
 "I was feeling like maybe, maybe, but it didn't go that way." 
 
 Officials with Douglas County-based Dish lauded the decision. 
 
 "We are pleased with the outcome of the court's decision today," the company said in a statement. "As a national employer, Dish remains committed to a drug-free workplace and compliance with federal law." 
 
 Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman said the decision gives companies the freedom to craft their own employment policies concerning marijuana. 
 
 "Not every business will opt for zero-tolerance, but it is important that the latitude now exists to craft a policy that fits the individual workplace," she said. 
 
 A question for the legislature 
 
 When Colorado legalized recreational marijuana last year, employers across the state increased their drug testing, said Curtis Graves, an attorney for Mountain States Employers Council, referencing a workplace survey at the time. A year later, and with an unemployment rate below 5 percent, some employers have loosened the reins. 
 
 "We've seen a number of employers, particularly in hospitality ... who are actually omitting THC from a pre-employment drug screen," he said. 
 
 The market might dictate a further shift in the future. 
 
 Until then, people like Coats will have to consider other treatments or find a position that does not enforce a zero-tolerance drug policy, said Austin Smith, managing shareholder of employment law firm Ogletree Deakins' Denver office. 
 
 "It puts employees in a tough spot," said Smith, who watched the case closely but was not involved. 
 
 Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law professor, said the justices' decision comes as no surprise. 
 
 "It's easy to make too much of this decision," he said. "It really comes down to interpreting this one word ('lawful') in this one statute." 
 
 As a matter of statutory interpretation, the court got it right, he said. 
 
 But for Coats and medical marijuana advocates, this is a blow, Kamin said. He said he thinks the state legislature will take up the issue. 
 
 "I think (Coats') case is very sympathetic, and I think his case would be quite compelling before the legislature," Kamin said. 
 
 Six of the seven justices decided the case. Justice Monica Marquez recused herself because her father, retired Senior Judge Jose D.L. Marquez, was on the Court of Appeals panel that upheld Coats' firing. 
 
 Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or twitter.com/aliciawallace 
 
 Excerpts from the Colorado Supreme Court decision 
 
 • "Colorado's 'lawful activities statute,' the term 'lawful' refers only to those activities that are lawful under both state and federal law." 
 
 • "Nothing in the language of the statute limits the term 'lawful' to state law. Instead, the term is used in its general, unrestricted sense, indicating that a 'lawful' activity is that which complies with applicable 'law,' including state and federal law. We therefore decline Coats's invitation to engraft a state law limitation onto the statutory language." 
 
 • "Coats does not dispute that the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits medical marijuana use. The CSA lists marijuana as a Schedule I substance, meaning federal law designates it as having no medical accepted use, a high risk of abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision." 
 
 • "Having decided this case on the basis of the prohibition under federal law, we decline to address the issue of whether Colorado's Medical Marijuana Amendment deems medical marijuana use 'lawful' by conferring a right to such use." 

 DENVER (AP) — Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it. 
 
 FILE - In this April 25, 2013, file photo, attorney Michael Evans, left, listens in his office in Denver, as his client Brandon Coats talks about the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling that upheld Coats... (Associated Press) 
 
 The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a medical marijuana patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job back. The case has big implications for employers and pot smokers in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana. 
 
 Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational pot in 2012. Though the case involves medical marijuana, the court's decision could also affect how companies treat employees who use the drug recreationally. 
 
 Brandon Coats is a quadriplegic who was fired by Dish Network after failing a drug test in 2010. The company agreed that Coats wasn't high on the job but said it has a zero-tolerance drug policy. 
 
 Courts in California, Montana and Washington state also ruled against medical marijuana patients fired for pot use. 
 
 Coats argued that his pot smoking was allowed under a Colorado law intended to protect employees from being fired for legal activities off the clock. Coats didn't use marijuana at work, and he wasn't accused of being high on the job. But pot's intoxicating chemical, THC, can stay in the system for weeks. 
 
 The company argued that because pot is illegal under federal law, medical marijuana isn't covered by the state law. 
 
 Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., allow medical marijuana. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational sales, though court cases so far have involved medical patients. 
 
 The Colorado Constitution specifically states that employers don't have to amend their policies to accommodate employees' marijuana use. 
 
 In arguments last year, Dish attorney Meghan Martinez declared that it didn't matter whether Coats was ever high on the job. 
 
 "This case need not be an endorsement or an indictment of medical marijuana" but a chance to set standards for employee conduct, Martinez said. "It's a zero-tolerance policy. It doesn't matter if he was impaired or not." 
 
 Coats' attorney, Michael Evans, asked the court to issue a narrow ruling that would apply to people like Coats: those in nonhazardous jobs who are not impaired at work and whose employers don't have federal contracts that could be jeopardized. 
 
 Coats was paralyzed in a car crash as a teenager and has been a medical marijuana patient since 2009, when he discovered that pot helped calm violent muscle spasms. He was a telephone operator with Dish for three years before he failed a random drug test in 2010 and was fired. He said he told his supervisors in advance that he probably would fail the test. 
 
 A trial court judge and Colorado's appeals court upheld his firing, saying pot can't be considered lawful if it is outlawed at the federal level. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Online: 
 
 Coats v Dish Network: http://bit.ly/1cQHOTxpdf .
– A Colorado quadriplegic who lost his Dish Network job for using marijuana outside of work for medical reasons lost his case in the state's highest court today. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 6-0 that businesses can fire employees who violate their drug policies, even if that drug use is legal in that state, is used for medicinal purposes, and isn't used at work, the Denver Post reports. The case arose after Brandon Coats failed a drug test in 2010 and lost his telephone operator job with Dish, which has a zero-tolerance drug policy, the AP reports. His lawyer argued that because Coats, who suffers violent muscle spasms, used pot only at home and worked a "nonhazardous" job, he should be exempt from such no-drug policies. The court's decision upheld previous rulings that because marijuana is still illegal on a federal level, businesses can prohibit it no matter the circumstances. The big question: whether medical marijuana use would be protected by the state's "Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute," originally meant to protect cigarette smokers who smoke off the clock, the Post notes. However, the justices in this case say that qualifying outside-of-work activities have to be legal per both state and federal law. Legal experts note this ruling could have wide implications for how employers in Colorado and other states deal with both recreational and medicinal marijuana use, per the Post. "This is a sad day for Colorado medical marijuana patients, who now have no protection for off-duty use of medical or recreational marijuana," a statement from the Cannabis Therapy Institute reads, per KDVR. The Dish Network's statement, according to 7News Denver: "Dish is committed to its drug-free workplace policy and compliance with federal law, which does not permit the use of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes."