The California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed initiative language this week for marijuana legalization in California. It’s my understanding that the California NAACP does not intend to run a campaign itself, but is filing the initiative as a kind of ‘road map’ of what the organization would like to see in a marijuana legalization effort in California. There are multiple legalization efforts in California right now (as expected), but the one that seems to be getting the most traction is ReformCA. I could be wrong since I don’t live in California, but that’s what it seems like to me based off of my conversations with leading cannabis advocates.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part III in this series by Dr. Ralph E. Jones. Part I & II can be found at www.valleystar.com.

I began using pot at age 13, introduced to it by my “friends.”

By age 25 with my continued use, I was really hooked on it. Despite my families urging that I get some help with it, I continued to use heavy. Denial and Rationalization were everyday tools I used to justify my use and its continuation: “Everybody does it,” “It’s just harmless marijuana and nobody gets addicted to it,” “It’s safer than drinking,” etc. I eventually loss all my jobs, wife, and my beautiful twin daughters because smoking weed was more important than they were … I just wanted to be stoned all the time.

I have long feared getting fired from my job because I consume marijuana. It is a fear that most working cannabis consumers have to worry about constantly. Cannabis consumers can be fired for consuming cannabis even in states where medical and/or recreational marijuana are legal. Cannabis consumers can be fired from jobs even if there is no proof of impairment while on the clock. My work recently came out with a policy that we can consume marijuana at night and on the weekends (but not before work, or on breaks or lunches), which for the most part is great. But if I were to get in an accident on the job, I would be drug tested (even if the accident wasn’t my fault) and would lose my job after they found THC in my system.

DENVER, CO (August 20, 2015) – Cannabis Trainers, a Denver-based provider of training and certification programs for the legal cannabis industry, is the first state-approved Responsible Vendor Program Provider under a new Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division initiative with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment​.

Cannabis Trainers Founder & Chief Facilitator Maureen McNamara worked with Division leaders to shape the state’s responsible vendor training guidelines. Her company’s Sell-SMaRT™ program is the first to be approved as a Responsible Vendor Program.

The Carnegie-Knight News21 program, a national multi-university reporting initiative headquartered at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, released a major investigation Sunday into the issues surrounding the legalization of marijuana in America.

Twenty-seven students from 19 universities traveled to more than 23 states and interviewed hundreds of individuals to report and produce “America’s Weed Rush.” The project is at weedrush.news21.com.

Last month, emergency services were called to an explosion at New MexiCann Natural, a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Two employees were injured while making edible cannabis products: Aaron Smith, 28, and Nick Montoya, 29. They were airlifted to University of New Mexico Hospital’s Level 1 Trauma Center with third-degree burns from a presumed butane reaction.

Revolution Enterprises - Chicago, IL 
$70,000 - $100,000 a year

Revolution Enterprises seeks a Human Resources professional who shares our passion for pioneering the science of medicines derived from cannabis. The ideal candidate has at least 5+ years experience managing Human Resources functions. An exceptional candidate is aware and informed about medical cannabis and is driven to work hard to see regulated medical cannabis a reality in the US. The position is a leadership role, responsible for ensuring a strong, positive company culture pervades all employment policies and relations.

PHOENIX - The developing national marijuana industry is still sifting through labor disputes long since settled in other lines of work. 

Employees have found that no line of work is quite like marijuana - and not always in a good way. Most bosses must pay their workers in cash, hampered by federal laws that prevent many employers from opening bank accounts. For the vast majority, direct deposit is a pipe dream, health insurance a luxury, a matching 401(k) a foreign concept. 

"The marijuana industry is actually being treated worse than prostitution rings and gambling organizations, which is ridiculous," said Kim Houser, a professor of business law at Washington State University, where she studies the marijuana industry.

Seeking budding writers in Oregon

The employment outlook is looking up for cannabis aficionados. 

The Oregonian, the main newspaper in Portland, is looking for a critic to review marijuana strains and other weed-related products. The job listing for the freelance position demands an “experienced cannabis consumer” with deep knowledge of the strains of marijuana available in the state. The role will also include writing about the state’s “robust cannabis culture and marketplace.”

Donald Briere’s conviction record goes back to 1972

VANCOUVER -- Recent court documents allege a Vancouver-based pot shop kingpin has a lengthy criminal record, has been selling pot to 16-year-olds and claims to have been threatened by the Hells Angels.

The information is contained in a police application for a warrant to raid Weeds Glass + Gifts at 2916 West 4th Ave. near Macdonald Street, which is run by Donald Briere.

The revelation is second this month illustrating the involvement of organized crime in the pot dispensary business.