Local activists are planning a protest at the Walmart store in Comstock Park in support of Joseph Casais, an employee at the Battle Creek store who recently was fired for using medical marijuana.

Casais, 29, suffers from sinus cancer and has an inoperable brain tumor. He is a registered medical marijuana user. He worked at Walmart for five years and was fired in November after injuring his knee on the job and testing positive for marijuana during a subsequent drug screening.

The American Civil Liberties Union and marijuana advocacy groups have contested the firing. Walmart has defended its actions on the grounds that marijuana use, still is a federal crime (even though the federal government has said it won’t prosecute users who follow state law), arguing employers should have the right to set and enforce their own drug policies. Medical marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2008.

A protest is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. today at Walmart in Comstock Park, 3999 Alpine Avenue NW, led by Protest for Peace and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy of Michigan State University.