SACRAMENTO -- The California Supreme Court will hear arguments in Sacramento Tuesday morning on whether employers in the state can fire workers for using medical marijuana.

The court's seven justices will hear an appeal by Gary Ross, 45, of Carmichael, a computer systems administrator who was fired by RagingWire Telecommunications Inc. of Sacramento in 2001 because a drug test showed he used marijuana.

Ross says he needs medicinal marijuana to alleviate pain from a back injury he suffered while serving as an Air Force mechanic in 1983.

He claims he should be protected from being fired by California's medical marijuana law and employment discrimination law.

Ross said this week, "I was fired not for poor performance, but for an antiquated policy on medical marijuana."

He said, "This practice allows employers to undermine state law and the protections provided for patients."

The state's voter-approved Compassionate Use Act of 1996 allows seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor's approval. Ross contends RagingWire violated the state's anti-discrimination law because it did not accommodate his need for marijuana to treat his disability.

RagingWire says it was entitled to fire Ross because marijuana use remains illegal under federal law. It argues the state laws were never intended to protect workplace use of the drug and that neither the Legislature nor voters have approved such an expansion of the laws.

The telecommunications company's attorney, Gregory Valenza, wrote in a court brief, "The law does not require employers to accommodate illegal conduct."

The court will have three months to issue a ruling after hearing the arguments.

The arguments will be broadcast live by Webcast and on cable television by California Channel, a public service cable channel that is the equivalent of the national C-SPAN for California government events.

For information on how to watch the Webcast and on local cable channels carrying the court hearing, go to the California Channel Web site.