In November, the voters of California will decide whether to end prohibition against cannabis. In preparation for the possibility that marijuana might soon become legal, regulated and taxed, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union is organizing workers in the medicinal-marijuana industry, which is already legal. That is what you would expect labor unions to do with any new, legal industry. Many law-abiding businesspeople and entrepreneurs are also preparing to get involved in the business if it is legalized, taking over the market share currently held by dangerous cartels. The only reason criminal cartels instead of law-abiding businesses with a unionized workforce control the industry is that cannabis is illegal.
This work by UFCW perfectly displays the problem with prohibition. When a business is legal and regulated, it is run by law-abiding, tax-paying legitimate companies. These companies normally provide health benefits and pay taxes for their employees. The workers have legal protection against unsafe work conditions and exploitation. They can form a union or file a complaint with the government to try to address issues with their employers. The product the businesses sell can be inspected for safety, and customers can sue companies if they are ripped off.
On the other hand, when something is illegal, like cannabis, the business by default must be run by criminal enterprises. We see this with cannabis, just as we saw it with alcohol during Prohibition. The workers in the illegal industry have no legal protection. They don't get health benefits, don't have their payroll taxes provided, can't develop a proper work history or file a compliant against an abusive employer. The illegal product does not need to meet government regulations for safety. The criminals running the business also don't pay taxes on their profits. They can use violence to drive out competition, and they need to, since they can't rely on the police.
Our decades-long war on drugs has not eliminated the lucrative marijuana business in this country. There is zero reason to believe keeping the industry illegal would ever eliminate it. So, if this industry is going to exist no matter what, our only real choice is whether we leave it to criminal enterprises or put it in the hands of law-abiding companies, by ending prohibition.
I would prefer the cannabis market be run by regulated businesses that pay taxes and adhere to traditional workplace legal protections. After the repeal of Prohibition, legal breweries took over the alcohol industry from the mob. With continued prohibition of the multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, dozens of modern-day Al Capones are in control.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: FDL Action
Author: Jon Walker
Contact: FDL Action
Copyright: 2010 FDL Action
Website: From Fear to Fair: Criminal Cannabis Can Transform into a Law-Abiding Business
This work by UFCW perfectly displays the problem with prohibition. When a business is legal and regulated, it is run by law-abiding, tax-paying legitimate companies. These companies normally provide health benefits and pay taxes for their employees. The workers have legal protection against unsafe work conditions and exploitation. They can form a union or file a complaint with the government to try to address issues with their employers. The product the businesses sell can be inspected for safety, and customers can sue companies if they are ripped off.
On the other hand, when something is illegal, like cannabis, the business by default must be run by criminal enterprises. We see this with cannabis, just as we saw it with alcohol during Prohibition. The workers in the illegal industry have no legal protection. They don't get health benefits, don't have their payroll taxes provided, can't develop a proper work history or file a compliant against an abusive employer. The illegal product does not need to meet government regulations for safety. The criminals running the business also don't pay taxes on their profits. They can use violence to drive out competition, and they need to, since they can't rely on the police.
Our decades-long war on drugs has not eliminated the lucrative marijuana business in this country. There is zero reason to believe keeping the industry illegal would ever eliminate it. So, if this industry is going to exist no matter what, our only real choice is whether we leave it to criminal enterprises or put it in the hands of law-abiding companies, by ending prohibition.
I would prefer the cannabis market be run by regulated businesses that pay taxes and adhere to traditional workplace legal protections. After the repeal of Prohibition, legal breweries took over the alcohol industry from the mob. With continued prohibition of the multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, dozens of modern-day Al Capones are in control.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: FDL Action
Author: Jon Walker
Contact: FDL Action
Copyright: 2010 FDL Action
Website: From Fear to Fair: Criminal Cannabis Can Transform into a Law-Abiding Business
