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Vice Blog

WEED DEALINGS - CHRONIC EMPLOYMENT

I'm going to keep this one very short, and to the point. This week the content needs little context. As you're no doubt aware, California created proposition 215 to allow citizens access to medical cannabis. As I’ve mentioned previously, just because some advances have been made doesn’t mean that there is any less work to be done on the part of responsible citizens. California’s Senate Bill 129 is proof of this. Americans for Safe Access (one of the primary patient advocacy groups) and Senator Mark Leno have acted together to craft a bill that protects medical cannabis patients’ right to employment. Currently, an employer can fire an employee if they test positive for cannabis on a drug test, even if they are a qualified medical patient. The ASA and Senator Leno have taken the initiative to ensure that the battle to secure our right to use cannabis continues until full legalization is realized.

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At this point their bill has passed the Senate Judiciary committee and will be voted on. That means it’s time to contact your representative if you live in California, or if you don’t live in California it’s time to contact the California State Senate President, Darrell Steinberg. I know it’s easy to feel like this issue might not really affect you, but I promise it does. It’s a big deal for a member of the Senate to push through cannabis legislation, so all of government really pays attention to how it will play out. That means that if there is a massive outpouring of citizen support, the effects will register beyond California. If you’re down with the cause, now is the time to get down for the cause.

If you live outside of California, contact State Senate President Darrell Steinberg, and tell him that you encourage support of S.B. 129. It’ll take about two minutes of your time, and it has a humongous impact. Reach him here.

If you live in California follow this link, find your district on the map, and click it. This will take you to your representative's webpage. From here you can email them and let them know that you live in their district and you need to see their support for S.B. 129.

ZACH G. MOLDOF

Previously on Weed Dealings, The Vaporizer is Evolving