A Superior Court judge this morning rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit by the ACLU of Rhode Island regarding the state's medical marijuana program.

The lawsuit, Callaghan v. Darlington Fabrics Corporation, comes on behalf of a URI graduate student who was denied summer employment as a paid intern at Darlington Fabrics in Westerly because of her status as a registered medical marijuana user.

ACLU of Rhode Island Executive Director Steven Brown stated: "We believe it is important to keep in mind the significance of this issue. If the defendants have their way, any of the thousands of people in Rhode Island using medical marijuana for serious medical conditions would be forced to choose between taking lawfully this medication to relieve their pain or not having a job. That is a cruel and unacceptable choice, and certainly not what the General Assembly had in mind in passing this important law."