Madore is a medical cannabis user—licensed under Health Canada. He suffers from an autoimmune disorder that has resulted in primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver disease for which he’s had two liver transplants. He has had his colon removed. Madore uses cannabis to help with pain and stomach issues as well as anxiety and depression.

Eric Madore was relieved. The 28-year-old Collingwood, Ontario resident had finally landed a job that was manageable given his many health issues, including severe liver disease. But he’d only been working a day as a school bus driver when he said he was fired over his choice of medication.

His prescription, which VICE has viewed, is for three grams of cannabis a day—though he said he normally uses less than that. A note from the Ministry of Transportation about Madore’s cannabis prescription provided to VICE says “his present physical and mental health will have no effects on his ability to operate a bus.”

“They told me they had to let me go because of liability issues.” There was no investigation, he said.

Madore said he had never come into contact with any parents during his shift. When he checked the bus, which had been carrying high school students, he found some crumbs of weed on one the seats toward the back. But he said it ultimately didn’t matter.

“They had no problem with it,” he said. He had to wait for about a month and a half for all his medical paperwork to come through, and then was able to obtain his commercial vehicle license from the province. His first day, just after the May long weekend, went off without a hitch. But when he got up the next morning, he said he received a call from Sinton Landmark saying a parent had complained about the smell of marijuana. He said they did not provide any further information about the complaint.

Prior to his last liver transplant 10 months ago, Madore was working at a recycling plant that was hard on his joints. After the surgery, he was out of work and then went looking for a job that would be easier on his body. So he applied to be a school bus driver under Sinton Landmark Bus Lines. He said was upfront with the company about his medical cannabis use and stresses he would never medicate before a shift.

Madore told VICE he was crushed.

“I need this job,” he said. “After a month and half of back and forth and putting my effort and time into this company… they let me go just because of my choice in medication.”

VICE repeatedly reached out to Sinton Landmark over the last week for comment but has not yet heard back.

Madore’s story raises important questions about how employers will treat both medical and recreational cannabis users as the government implements a legal rec regime. Companies in safety sensitive industries, including oil and gas and transportation already have systems in place for drug testing, but these tests can’t detect THC impairment. Nonetheless, workers who fail them can and often do lose their jobs. Experts who spoke to VICE said the issue will get “ugly,” as workers and unions are likely to launch legal challenges against employers who dismiss them for cannabis use.

The Toronto Transit Commission and its union are currently locked in a battle over drug testing, with the union alleging the TTC is subjecting workers to tests that contain animal byproducts, violating their rights. The TTC told VICE as of June, the oral fluid testing devices no longer contained animal byproducts. The TTC’s fitness for duty policy, which includes drug tests after a serious crash or a near miss, or an accident in the shop, has been in place since 2011, but it's been tied up in arbitration for the last seven years. A random drug testing component was added to that policy in 2014 in response to a spike in on-the-job impairment, but wasn’t implemented until last May, after an Ontario Superior Court judge rejected the TTC union’s bid to shut it down. Since then, 2,643 workers have submitted to random drug tests, with 44 tests coming back positive. Of those 44 positive tests, 21 were for cannabis.

“Whether it’s legal or illegal really makes no difference,” TTC spokesman Brad Ross told VICE. “What we do care about is when you come you work you are fit for duty, you are not impaired… You can’t have a drink at lunch. You can’t go to a bar in your uniform. And you can’t smoke a joint and come to work.”

Sign up for the VICE Canada Newsletter to get the best of VICE Canada delivered to your inbox.