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In The Trenches

Press Release: Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Passes Both CA Houses

PRESS RELEASE Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release:* August 20, 2008 Medical Marijuana Employment Rights Bill Passes Both California Houses / Anti-discrimination bill AB2279 now heads to the Governor's desk Sacramento, CA -- A medical marijuana employment rights bill, which would protect hundreds of thousands of medical marijuana patients in California from employment discrimination, passed the State Senate today. AB2279 had already passed the State Assembly in May, which means the bill now heads to the Governor's desk. Advocates expect the bill to reach Schwarzenegger's desk in the next few weeks. AB2279, introduced in February by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), reverses a January California Supreme Court decision in the case /Ross v. RagingWire/. Support for the bill has been widespread, coming from labor, business, and health groups at the local and national level. "Now that both houses of the California legislature have voted in favor of employment rights for medical marijuana patients, the onus is on Governor Schwarzenegger to do the right thing," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the medical marijuana advocacy group that argued the case before the Court and a sponsor of the bill. "The Governor has a chance to include medical marijuana patients as productive members of society, thereby protecting the jobs of thousands of Californians with serious illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS." The bill leaves intact existing state law prohibiting medical marijuana consumption at the workplace or during working hours and protects employers from liability by carving out an exception for safety-sensitive positions. "AB2279 is not about being under the influence while at work. That's against the law, and will remain so," said Mr. Leno, the bill's author. "It's about allowing patients who are able to work safely and who use their doctor-recommended medication in the privacy of their own home, to not be arbitrarily fired from their jobs," continued Mr. Leno. "The voters who supported Proposition 215 did not intend for medical marijuana patients to be forced into unemployment in order to benefit from their medicine." On January 24, in a 5-2 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace. The plaintiff in the case, Gary Ross, is a 46-year old disabled veteran who was a systems engineer living Carmichael, California, when he was fired from his job in 2001 at RagingWire Telecommunications for testing positive for marijuana. The decision in /Ross v. RagingWire/ dealt a harsh blow to patients in the courts, shifting the debate to the state legislature. But, before the court made its final decision, Ross enjoyed the support of ten state and national medical organizations, all of the original co-authors of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420), and disability rights groups. Since it began recording instances of employment discrimination in 2005, ASA has received hundreds of such reports from all across California. Further information: Employment rights legislation AB2279: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AB_2279.pdf ASA web page on AB2279, including Fact Sheet and Letters of Support: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/AB2279 Legal briefs and rulings in the Ross v. RagingWire case: http://www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Ross # # #
In The Trenches

4:20 Drug War NEWS 08/18/08

Drug Truth Network Update: 4:20 Drug War NEWS from 90.1 FM in Houston and dozens of radio affiliates in the US, Canada and Australis & on the web at www.kpft.org. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US, Canada and Australia. 4:20 Drug War NEWS 08/18/08 to 08/24/08 now online (3:00 ea:) Select online at www.drugtruth.net Sun - Josheph Califano dissembles for a living 2/2 Sat - Joseph Califano, Chairman and CEO, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (distorts reality) 1/2 Fri - Poppygate Report with Glenn Greenway Thu - Misha Glenny, author of McMafia, courtesy of PBS Wed - Drug War Facts with Doug McVay Tue - Terry Nelson reports for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Mon - Virginia McDavid, democrat for Texas house, decries drug war Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed (Now With Transcripts): - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Peter Moskos of LEAP - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: Richard Burton of R.E.A.C.H. Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net
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Excellent Video: The Human Cost of Marijuana Prohibition

The Marijuana Policy Project has put together an absolute must-see video telling the stories of real people who were unfairly targeted by the war on drugs.

Part 1:

Part 2:


There is simply no counterpoint to this. No one will come forward to defend these atrocities. They cannot. Instead, the drug czar and his soldiers will continue to celebrate their war, while pretending these people don't exist.

The duty falls on us, therefore, to give a voice to the drug war's countless victims. These stories puncture the false narrative that the war on drugs protects life and liberty. These are the inevitable, intolerable consequences of the terrible war we've declared on our own neighbors and friends, on the sick and dying, on children and grandparents. To know these stories is to know the truth: the drug war has brought us the opposite of every good outcome we were told to expect.

So today I call upon the silent drug warriors lurking around the site (I know you're out there) to come forward and tell us why the nice people in these videos were worth sacrificing. Speak now, lest we assume you have no answer for this.
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College Presidents Call for Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age

It's encouraging to see prominent educators take a stand for more sensible drug policies:

As college students gear up for annual back-to-school parties, a group of university and college presidents in California and across the country this week pushed for a national debate over whether the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18.

The current limit ignores the reality of drinking during college years and drives it underground, making binge drinking more dangerous and students less likely to seek help in an emergency, according to a petition signed by more than 100 campus presidents. Though they don't call for an outright age rollback, the campus chiefs said they support "an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age." [LA Times]

The drug czar's office went code red, of course, and was probably more than a little displeased at having to respond to a bunch of respected college presidents who couldn't be ignored or accused of being pro-drug. With the help of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, they've compiled a list of emphatic counterpoints most of which, if true, would compel us to ban alcohol entirely for everyone. My favorite is that, "all underage drinking is unsafe drinking."

And isn't that just precisely the point here? Kids are getting bombed surreptitiously in dormrooms across America. They're being ushered into the drinking culture by the drunkest people on earth. And they're afraid to ask for help in an emergency because well-meaning morons have criminalized their behavior instead of supervising it.

Of course, beyond the practical problems with the 21 drinking age, I'm still a big fan of the old cliché that if you're old enough to fight and die for your country, you're old enough to drink a beer. That argument should've worked a long time ago, but I guess I've been fighting for drug policy reform long enough to know that being right doesn't mean politicians will do what you propose.

So instead, every American between the ages of 18 and 20 should refuse to serve in the armed forces until this is addressed, lest they should find themselves fighting in defense of a freedom they may not live long enough to taste.
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Semanal: Blogueando en el Bar Clandestino

“La guerra contra las drogas en 100 segundos”, “Otro alto funcionario antidroga pide la legalización”, “El último ataque escandaloso de Stephen Colbert contra la marihuana medicinal”, “Bob Barr condena redada antidroga violenta que mató a perros”, “Carteles mexicanos han empezado a secuestrar a estadounidenses”, “El alcalde Calvo dice que redadas antidrogas estropeadas son banales”, “Emisoras de TV se niegan a permitir discusión de legislación sobre la marihuana”, “El verdadero motivo por que equipos SWAT matan a perros y personas”, “Dibujo animado: Perros en cuanto práctica de tiro para equipos SWAT”.
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