SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A construction industry group wants companies to have the legal right to bar users of medical marijuana from working in potentially hazardous jobs like operating heavy machinery.

It is an issue that state lawmakers will likely take up during a monthlong session that begins in February.

AP file photo

A man smokes a marijuana cigarette.

And it is expected to touch off a lively debate over whether people's right to legally use medical marijuana can be trumped by issues such as workplace safety.

Under Oregon's 1998 medical marijuana law, employers don't have to let patients with medical marijuana cards smoke it in the workplace.

But the law left it unclear whether employers must accommodate workers who smoke medical marijuana off the job.