Allied Association Blog: Cal NORML Fights Ongoing Discrimination That Hurts Cannabis Businesses in California

Assemblymember Bill Quirk has introduced two bills sponsored by California NORML in this year’s legislative session that address ongoing human rights issues that are stumbling blocks for industry.

A pair of online surveys being conducted by California NORML is finding that up to 33% of respondents have been denied employment due to testing positive for cannabis, 19% have been denied prescription drugs by their doctor due to cannabis use, and up to 60% have stopped using cannabis because of drug testing by their employer or doctor.

This means as many as half of businesses’ potential customers aren’t buying cannabis products in California because of current laws. In addition, many Californians report they are underemployed because of their cannabis use, giving them less purchasing power at cannabis retailers.

The first bill to remedy this situation is AB 2188, which would end discrimination based on cannabis metabolites testing by California employers.

Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites is the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis off the job. Cannabis metabolites are the non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids (mainly, urine and hair) for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis.

Testing positive for cannabis metabolites has no scientific value in establishing that a person is impaired on the job. When employers use cannabis metabolites tests to discriminate against employees or prospective employees, they are most likely discriminating against people who consumed cannabis when they were not at work.

Five other states (NV, NY, NJ, CT & MT) have passed laws in recent years protecting adult-use cannabis users’ employment rights, and 21 states protect those rights for medical marijuana users. Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Atlanta also protect the rights of workers in their cities who use cannabis.

As in other states, the proposed California bill has exemptions for employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates. Assemblymember Quirk’s bill does not bar employers from requiring that employees not be impaired on the job, and it does not prohibit other forms of testing, such as performance-based impairment testing or testing for THC, which may establish that a person has consumed cannabis in the past several hours.

Studies have shown that off-the-job cannabis use is not positively associated with elevated rates of occupational accidents or injuries, and that liberalized cannabis laws are associated greater labor participation, lower rates of absenteeism, declines in workers’ compensation filings, and higher wages.

The cities of Oakland and San Francisco have passed resolutions in favor of the employment rights bill’s language, and Cal NORML has been busy reaching out to unions and other stakeholders for support.

The second Cal NORML-sponsored bill to benefit California cannabis consumers — and the industry — is AB 1954, which seeks to protect the right of patients to medical treatment if they use medical cannabis, and the right of physicians and clinics to treat them.

Many physicians are under the mistaken impression that they can’t prescribe medication to patients who test positive for cannabis. The Quirk bill would clarify that physicians cannot be punished for treating patients who use medical cannabis, notwithstanding its illicit status under federal law.

A great many studies have shown cannabis is effective for pain and can help patients reduce their use of opiates. Cal NORML’s survey shows that 24-30% of respondents have increased their use of opiates or other medications due to drug testing by their doctor or employer. With an opiate overdose crisis continuing to affect California, we need to end policies that drive patients to use more dangerous and addictive drugs.

In Cal NORML’s membership polling, we have found that tax reduction is the #1 issue among our members. We are following and acting on 30-40 bills this year, including the various tax reform bills and other business-oriented proposals that have been introduced in the CA legislature this year, from a consumer rights standpoint.

Cal NORML has begun a Capital Campaign aimed at cannabis companies who do business in California to take us over the finish line on these important bills in 2022. We also offer business memberships with many perks, including discounts on NCIA memberships. We are always interested in hearing from our business members on how we can work together for cannabis consumers’ rights in California.

Ellen Komp is the Deputy Director of California NORML. Founded in 1972, Cal NORML is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to reforming California’s marijuana laws. As the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, we lobby lawmakers, promote events, publish newsletters, offer legal and consumer health advice, and sponsor scientific research. Check out our website at www.CaNORML.org.

Member Blog: Helping Mary Jane Is Good For Business

by Kharla Vezzetti, Business Membership and Advertising Manager at California NORML

Who is the cannabis consumer to you?

In a vast industry with so many important contributors, the one group that we all have in common and eventually serve is the consumer. The cannabis consumer is our shared financial bottom line, the foundation of our industry, our end-all reason for being in business. The cannabis consumer is one huge group. While your company may see your target market as including a specific demographic, the totality of the cannabis consumer group spans ages, genders, and socio-economic groups more so than the average marketed “widget.” That said, there are needs and concerns that the average cannabis consumers share.

I Call Her Mary Jane.

While we all move forward in California ‘s post Prop 64 environment, our ongoing goals, as both businesses and organizations, need to be consumer-focused. Mary Jane’s needs, as an individual, must not be overlooked.

Mary needs to be healthy and free enough to drive herself to work. She needs to not fear being honest with her doctor, nor be submitted to a job-ending drug test. She needs to be able to afford and have access to her choice of medicine. She needs advocates and educators to monitor our legislators, answer her questions, and to fight for her rights as a cannabis consumer. She needs all of us to honor her importance as the foundation she is.

Why You Should Support Mary Jane’s Rights:

An Employed Consumer Base Is Essential For Product Sales.

Think about how you would attempt to sell cannabis to the unemployed. California, unlike 15 other states, still subjects employees to the risk of losing their jobs or being denied employment due to their cannabis usage, even when Mary has a doctor’s recommendation. Read more about the solution here.

Consumers Must Be Free To Discuss Cannabis With Their Doctors Without Repercussions.

Medical Cannabis users are a large portion of the industry’s market. Unfortunately, California pain patients, who wish to reduce their use of opioids with cannabis, currently risk losing their prescription medication if they get caught supplementing with cannabis. Read more about this discriminatory issue here.

Californians Love Driving—Many Must Drive.

Year after year, unscientific and discriminatory driving laws are proposed by state legislators. Just imagine Mary losing her license due to simply having THC in her bloodstream. She is now unable to get to work or to her doctor’s visits. Good thing for Mary, this scenario is being regularly averted by California NORML, while cannabis delivery rights have also been maintained across the state.

Contributing To Mary’s Rights Is Good For Your Branding.

Showing yourself as a company that cares about the consumer, their health, happiness and well-being, as well as exhibiting respect for their history, sets you apart in a California cannabis community which has such old, strong roots alongside so many new players.

Sane Laws And Regulations Benefit All.

In this fast-growing and adapting climate, we must have a say on proposed laws and regulations that affect our industry and those who depend on our success. Read more about Cal NORML’s recent accomplishments and current plans on behalf of Californians here.

It’s often said that California “leads the way” for the rest of the United States. While this hasn’t always been true, a state our size with a cannabis history so long and distinguished should continue to strive to be a positive trendsetter. Let’s keep Mary Jane at the forefront of our plans for success. She is more than an email analytic or a dollar sign. Mary and her needs spurned this modern movement with the passage of Prop 215. She should continue to be the inspiration, and a significant focus for the industry. When we take care of Mary, as our combined consumer, we all win.

Kharla Vezzetti volunteered in the 1990s as a both a signature gatherer as well as the Media Liaison for the Sonoma County chapter of Californian’s for Compassionate Use, working on what was to become Prop 215/The Compassionate Use Act of 1996, the first successful medical marijuana initiative in the country.

From 1996-1998, Vezzetti was the owner and operator of Natural Harvest, a wholesale distribution and retail vending business specializing in Sonoma County produced industrial hemp products.

In the years 1997-1999, She was the Advertising Manager for HempWorld: The International Hemp Journal and Hemp Pages: The Hemp Industry Source Book, both first of their kind publications.

In 1998, Vezzetti served as a member on the Board of Advisers for the Industrial Use of Hemp (Marijuana) Initiative

She excitedly joined the staff of California NORML in 2017, where she continues as the non-profit organization’s Business Membership and Advertising Manager. Additionally, she is a graphic designer, marketing advisor, and blogger based in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA.