UFCW Backs Passage of Federal Bill to Legalize Cannabis  – Ganjapreneur | How to order Skittles Moonrock online

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is backing the renewed push to legalize cannabis federally. In a statement, UFCW President Milton Jones said the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which was reintroduced in Congress last week would build “workplace protections, strong wages, and economic opportunities into the cannabis industry ensures that workers and those harmed by the failed ‘War on Drugs’ will benefit from the industry’s growth.”

“As states across the country legalize cannabis, Congress has the rare opportunity to shape this industry into one that protects workers and rectifies the historical and continuing harms of past policies. …  As America’s cannabis union, the UFCW knows that this industry’s success depends on the prosperity of the growers, cultivators, manufacturers, processors, and budtenders who power it.” — Jones in a press release

The union, which represents thousands of cannabis industry workers, notes that the legislation would offer agricultural cannabis workers federal protections under the the National Labor Relations Act, which does not currently permit agricultural workers to unionize. However, in May the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rejected the claim by a Missouri cannabis company that cultivation and manufacturing facility employees could not unionize because they are agricultural workers, ruling that “none of the workers employed in the classifications at issue…are agricultural laborers under the secondary definition of agriculture.”

The UFCW also said the bill would ensure workers are protected under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, which would help employers limit worksite hazards through the creation of a national workplace safety standard, provide funding for research into the health effects of working in the cannabis industry, and direct workplace training grants to the industry.

The legislation, which has support from 17 Democratic senators, would completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and establish a Center for Cannabis Products to regulate production, labeling, distribution, sales, and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.

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TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media studies at a local university. More by TG Branfalt