Amazon Ends Testing Most Employees For Marijuana, Will Lobby For Legalization (npr.org) 104
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: Amazon will no longer test most job applicants for marijuana use in the latest sign of America's changing relationship with pot. Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the U.S., also says it now backs legalizing marijuana nationwide. "In the past, like many employers, we've disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use," the company said in a blog post on Tuesday. "However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we've changed course."
With the shift in policy, the only job candidates Amazon will screen for marijuana are those applying for positions regulated by the Department of Transportation -- a category that includes delivery truck drivers and operators of heavy machinery. The company says it will handle marijuana the same way it deals with alcohol -- and it will still test for all drugs and alcohol after any accidents or other incidents. Amazon is also acting on the political level, throwing its weight behind the push to legalize marijuana in the U.S. and expunge criminal records for nonviolent marijuana-related convictions.
The company says its public policy team "will be actively supporting" the MORE Act -- the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act -- a move that adds momentum to legislation that was reintroduced in Congress on Friday. The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the list of drugs in the federal Controlled Substances Act, making its status similar to alcohol and tobacco. It would also tax cannabis products, directing some of that money toward investments in communities that have been harmed by marijuana's criminalization. "We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law," Amazon said in a statement about its support for legal marijuana.
With the shift in policy, the only job candidates Amazon will screen for marijuana are those applying for positions regulated by the Department of Transportation -- a category that includes delivery truck drivers and operators of heavy machinery. The company says it will handle marijuana the same way it deals with alcohol -- and it will still test for all drugs and alcohol after any accidents or other incidents. Amazon is also acting on the political level, throwing its weight behind the push to legalize marijuana in the U.S. and expunge criminal records for nonviolent marijuana-related convictions.
The company says its public policy team "will be actively supporting" the MORE Act -- the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act -- a move that adds momentum to legislation that was reintroduced in Congress on Friday. The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the list of drugs in the federal Controlled Substances Act, making its status similar to alcohol and tobacco. It would also tax cannabis products, directing some of that money toward investments in communities that have been harmed by marijuana's criminalization. "We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law," Amazon said in a statement about its support for legal marijuana.
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Dunno, we treat out workers great, I'm very lucky to be where I work. And yet you still get pot heads endangering their own lives and those around them (we deal with heavy machinery). I mean, c'mon, beyond a certain point the incentives don't matter, someone who wants to get high is gonna get high regardless.
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I have to admit I haven't seen that level of idiocy among the straight population, although I have seen some incredibly good career moves from potheads that I know. In either case the nature of my work demands absolute consistency and wakefulness. One wrong move can cost lives or big, big bucks.
Re:Great! (Score:5, Insightful)
No sane person is suggesting that employers should let employees perform work while actually intoxicated, regardless of the substance involved.
The problem with marijuana has always been that the test doesn't detect whether you're currently high, it detects whether you've used it at all and can frequently even detect a single usage of pot within 30 or more days. That means people are penalized for something that they are likely doing on their own time only.
It's like refusing to hire workers who drink during their offtime, even if it's just a glass of wine with dinner when they go out.
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A urine test can't tell if you are high. A blood test can measure the amount of THC in your bloodstream. We can correlate similar to BAC to determine if the average person was likely to be impaired.
We have no tests to tell if you are doing pain meds on the job, or if your caffeine dose is too high and causing you to be flighty, etc.
When someone is acting strange, the right thing to do would be to get them off the shop floor and find out why.
That said, if you want to do anything in your free time, your emplo
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I know right, just like those booze heads that drink after work. We can't have people endangering our lives with what they do with their free time! It's high time we ban all recreational drugs! Start with nicotine and move down the list.
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We know Amazon treats it's warehouse workers poorly. How is pot going to help?
You make a good point. I wonder else in their workers' lives they could be monitoring... you know, to "help them not be treated poorly."
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It's not that pot would help; it's that testing/firing for pot harms. By taking away negative-value things (e.g. arbitrary firings unrelated to the business or performance), you increase the net utility.
And this isn't just about increasing the net utility for the worker, either. It also increases the net utility for Amazon too. Both Amazon and their employees are "in this together" in that they both benefit from reducing unnecessary turnover. Everybody wins.
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You'll get more serious and safer workers who aren't stoned potheads you mean.
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It's usually pretty easy to spot a pothead without testing, just like it's usually pretty easy to spot a drunkard.
But not everybody who uses cannabis is a pothead, any more than everyone who drinks alcohol is a drunkard. Most users of either drug use it responsibly. But due to the difference in the way the two drugs are metabolized and tested for, an alcohol test onlys tell you whether someone is currently intoxicated, while a cannabis test tells you whether someone had a smoke after work Friday night a f
Re: Great! (Score:1)
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So more work place injuries to come at the Amazon warehouses?
Injuries at Amazon warehouses are already 80% higher than their competitors [bbc.co.uk]. You are right to expect even more injuries because, as the article says, Amazon will only check AFTER the accident happens.
For those who won't bother to read the article, Amazon's response to the report was to say its workers were like industrial athletes who need to train their bodies for the rigors of the work, such as walking up to 13 miles each day or lifting over 20,000 pounds by the time their day is done.
Just wait until som
Re:Great! (Score:5, Insightful)
So more work place injuries to come at the Amazon warehouses?
like this [go.com] happens at an Amazon warehouse.
First line of the article you posted "The operator also admitted to taking codeine and other prescription drugs before the accident" indicating that the crane operator was diong his best to hold down a job whilst controlling PAIN.
When people are in PAIN they are distracted, they make mistakes and they can't interact properly. How do you know what other prescription drugs he was taking? for example oxycontin?
My experience of all of the substances mentioned above is that codeine slows my thinking, oxys slow my reflexes and cannabis helps me sleep. I made my doctor aware that I was using cannabis during injury recovery (spinal surgery) as the most effective way to control PAIN without dulling my senses or slowing my reflexes. See how you function after a week without sleep, all you know is PAIN.
It's frustrating when people, such as yourself, come out and ramble on about stuff they obviously know nothing about that removes an option for people to control the PAIN they experience so they can get on with their lives.
If this crane operator had ingested cannabis oil the night before to help him sleep then of course it is going to be detected in his bloodstream. If he had cannabis when he was operating a crane, where people could get hurt, then *he* was being irresponsible. Next:
"Citing court records, The Inquirer reported Benschop has been arrested 10 times for a range of offenses, including drug charges, theft, firearms and assault."
Sounds to me you're trying to paste the acts of an individual onto a substance that does a lot of people, including myself, a lot of good. Whether the individual involved here was using it responsibly or not is more a function of the individual than the cannabis that was detected.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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People who are actively doing drugs in the workplace will get hurt more than people who are fully aware.
People who do not get a good night's rest and go to work tired will get hurt more in the workplace than people who are fully aware.
People that drink in the workplace...you get it.
Not screening new hires for weed in no way ensures they will work high. Most people who do recreational drugs like beer do it at home during their off-hours and never come to work intoxicated. This is true with weed as well. To s
Why? (Score:1)
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: Why? (Score:3)
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NO, jeepers, it's because POT is the ideal product for Amazon, from Amazon farms, delivered right to your door. It keeps well, the product ain't fussy at all to produce, dry it, package it, store it and deliver direct to you. Easy product to produce and higher quality product generates higher prices and easy to distribute and it will fit in a post slot in your front door, safe (except from drug addicted pets ;D).
So 'Amazon Cannabis' with choice of flavours and Cannabinoid ratios, for the experience right fo
AmazonBasics CBD, pot, hydroponics gear, etc (Score:2)
NO, jeepers, it's because POT is the ideal product for Amazon, from Amazon farms, delivered right to your door. It keeps well, the product ain't fussy at all to produce, dry it, package it, store it and deliver direct to you.
Couldn't agree more. I fucking hate pot, but I even I see the value of legalization + the economic opportunities it provides.
Amazon is perfectly poised to take advantage of the market....selling everything that goes along with the experience. I started growing pandemic veggies and have taken advantage of gear from Vivosun, a great manufacturer whose products are very clearly designed for the pot growing crowd, but it helps me for my berries and veggies.
While there is definitely something towards m
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Can't be because of some altruistic moral reason. I think we all know better than that...
I think we will hear shortly about Amazon buying a pot company and now you will be able to purchase online. With same day delivery for 420-Prime members.
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...they'll be getting everything they deserve.
...for supporting the likes of Bezos, not for wanting to get high.
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And when they spark up a big bowl of beautiful-looking "nugs" made from receycled carpet, or vape a fat hit of "shatter" that's actually bearing grease, they'll be getting everything they deserve.
Why do they deserve it?
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Re:Why? (Score:4, Funny)
Bezos' girlfriend finally got him to take his first toke.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure I'd read too much into it. Washington State legalized marijuana approaching a decade ago, and as it turns out, society didn't collapse. All that happened is that law enforcement no longer wastes time and money going after pot growers, dealers, and users. I figure Amazon just doesn't want to bother with something as minor as marijuana use, especially since it's legal in their home state.
Obviously, you can't come to work under the influence, but it doesn't affect anyone else what you do in your off hours, especially in moderation. It's really no different than alcohol in that regard.
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Re: Why? (Score:2)
You mean the places with meth?
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's most likely because they're having difficulty finding workers who will put up with drug testing. Occasional pot use is ubiquitous in Washington because it's been legal for years now. It's not just "stoners" who use cannabis, but probably the majority of adults here have used a cannabis product within the last year that would show up in a test (for some number of days afterward). It's an entirely normal thing that's no more frowned-upon than alcohol. What do you think would happen if you had a hiring policy that prohibits workers from drinking in their free time?
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People with holes poked in their brains by smoking this shit probably won't be motivated to unionise.
Re: Why? (Score:2)
It's overuse of MDMA that leads to the physical damage you mention but seeing your attitude on the matter, I bet smoking would improve your intelligence especially on matters of EQ.
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I was referring to the memory loss I always find with people who have been smoking MJ for long periods, not literal holes.
We've nearly got rid of cigarettes; I don't want my world filled with the smell of 2-day-old cat piss instead. I mean, seriously, can pot smokers not smell that rancid stink or something? Does it burn out your nose before your memory?
Re: Why? (Score:1)
Seems right (Score:2)
Given that Bezos is probably a pothead himself anyways.
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Re: Seems right (Score:2)
You know the interesting thing about this, isn't just that they can afford it but they prefer it. Like you give a sociopath a choice between a psychedelic and a stimulant, and it seems they always prefer the stimulant... But hey Freud thought we should all take it, so that would be a Brave New World.
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Just look how prevalent caffeine has become with all the coffee and tea (black, green, and mate) drinkers as well as tons of other caffeinated beverages. Prefering stimulants doesn't have to mean anything on its own.
From personal experience, if there's a deadline ahead and a lot of stuff still needs to be done, I'd also always go for cocaine. That helps to get stuff done. The other things are for when stuff has been done.
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Fair enough. I guess my point is for many people in leadership positions, there is never a moment when "stuff has been done". It's like they are always trying to burn more oil for the next objective.
Your point about caffeine is good though. However, in drug communities they always like to talk about "micro dosing". For me the use of caffeine as we see in drinks is totally "micro dosing". Try a caffeine pill, and you will quickly see the difference. Also, this goes back ritual too. Humans love ritual. You as
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ASPD people usually understand that what they're doing and how they're treating other people is considered to be bad, but they are convinced that they have the right to act that way and will invent reasons to justify not feeling
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Re:THC (Score:4, Insightful)
dulls the conscience too, my pothead relatives and coworkers thought nothing of stealing things. I have no use for potheads.
Seriously? I think this is more about your prejudices than cannabis.
Re: THC (Score:2)
Ding ding ding. The relationship to exploring consciousness and drug use is quite intimiate which is why the word "Pscyonaut" exists. Everything varies though. I think drugs can often remove social barriers, so the people in question probably always "wanted" to steal, they just were afraid. Fear vs reward motivation.
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The causality is backwards. People who don't care much about laws are willing to use illegal drugs. People who never break the law only use legal drugs. It has nothing to do with the drugs themselves, only how they are legally classified.
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Interesting point. I mean I have done all kind of illegal drugs but I have never stolen or cheated. I think the reality is people draw different complex lines but your point still seems fair for a lot of people. I think the reality is sooner or later we all break some law (e.g. speeding) but the question follows, how does breaking one law cascade into breaking other laws. Clearly speeding isn't a gateway drug.
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Not sure I'd want to be next to a pot head operating complex equipment.
Everyone has subjective experiences however that is clearly not a responsible thing to do.
Statistics here suggest that of all the drug use [ourworldindata.org] alcohol and tobacco are the ones that do the most harm. How THC affects cognition may also be a function of underlying trauma, such as emotional abuse, the effects of which appears to be dampened by cannabis the same way schizophrenic symptoms are dampened by nicotine.
Not an ideal situation either way but if people are finding relief from their self medication who a
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Not sure I'd want to be next to a pot head operating complex equipment.
Just how complicated do you thing pushing a trolley around ab Amazon warehouse is?
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Well let me learn a mod lesson. /.ers porn or pot.
Don't disparage
government contracts? (Score:2)
Amazon primed will be the buzz term (Score:1)
I wouldn't read a lot into this... (Score:2)
Even if Amazon were successful and get pot legalized at the federal level companies can still set their own policies and hiring practices. Personally I could care less if someone wants to get high at home on their own time. But I sure don't want people high at work. And what about work from home people? What's to stop them from rolling up a spliff between meetings? :-)
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But I sure don't want people high at work. And what about work from home people? What's to stop them from rolling up a spliff between meetings? :-)
They don't want to look baked on a call. Maybe if the focus was more on productivity and less on control you really and truly would care less.
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The same thing that keeps them from getting drunk between meetings.
Anytime you hear an argument like this, substitute "pot" for "booze". It helps keep things in perspective.
Employ pot heads (Score:2)
and they will not complain about the crappy work conditions.
Smoking is bad (Score:1)
We finally put a stigma on tobacco smokers who stank and polluted the air for others, and cost the rest of us for their healthcare and dying care.
Tobacco and lung cancer deaths plummeting, but now we legalize places to buy and smoke another plant, with carcinogens of course as any burning thing has.
How stupid, no real doctor in last 30 years would say it's good to light something on fire and breath the smoke.
Re:Smoking is bad (Score:4, Insightful)
Smoking is for boomers. Edibles are popular for good reasons.
Edibles are good (Score:2)
Smoking is for boomers. Edibles are popular for good reasons.
Exactly!
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How stupid, no real doctor in last 30 years would say it's good to light something on fire and breath the smoke.
OK, so what harm does smoking cannabis do?
This is going to be amusing...
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No one wants to be near anonymous cowards either, but the BizX toolbags now running Slashdolt probably crunched the numbers and figured out that many of the comments that get people to respond were written by cowards like you. Makes sense, I guess. Quantity over quality is the BizX way.
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Smoke contains carcinogens. Cannabis smoke stinks, and the users are intoxicated and stupid. Smoking indoors is a fire hazard and puts other at risk.
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Smoke contains carcinogens.
Are you asserting that smoking cannabis increases your cancer risk? Because a UCLA study shows that it not only doesn't increase it, it actually reduces it.
I bet you're one of those people who complains about the carcinogen warning placards in California, too.
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It matters what kind of material it is.
Pretending otherwise is a shit show bitch move.
The door is that way, fuck right off
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and cost the rest of us for their healthcare and dying care.
Propaganda. The smokers saved money, what with all of the dying early and all.
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except they don't die early enough nor quickly, that year plus they take to die is extremely expensive, and they cause other people problems with their smoke too such as asthma prevalence and severity in children of smokers.
Stinking, being a fire hazard, and harming others while they live, being a money sewer as they die, that's the type of loser that is the smoker.
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Sigh... Here's some reality for you [nejm.org]
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False, totally ignores the harm to others, especially children, and the other dangers I mentioned. don't link half-assed studies to make your filthy stinking dangerous habit look more attractive, you loser.
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Sigh... You can't argue with an ideologue...
Enjoy the darkness.
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You are the one destined for darkness, after a grueling bout of cancer or emphysema. It's not being "an ideologue", it's being a normal human in the majority who hate the stench, danger and death of your filthy habit.
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So ... because you deny reality I must be a smoker? Reason is clearly not your strong suit!
You really need to get over this. It's not my fault that reality doesn't conform to your religious beliefs.
You're welcome to face reality and join the rest of us in the light. Or you can continue to spend your days bitter and alone in the darkness of ignorance and hate. The choice is yours, though I suspect that you're going to continue to wallow in your delusions.
The Expanse (Score:2)
Huh (Score:2)
Guess that labour shortage is for real.
Maybe they see a sales future for pot (Score:2)
If they push hard to get it legalized country wide, it may just appear on the store itself. They could even stick on one of their subscription options and grow it in their own warehouses.
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> Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the U.S., also says it now
> backs legalizing marijuana nationwide.
After all, what is good for Amazon is good for the country, Right?
Wish we could ... (Score:2)
If the job sucks (Score:2)
If the job sucks... having employees self-dose with marijuana, at their own expense, to tolerate it seems like something the company would want to encourage, so long as they're not too stoned to work.
Maybe they finally figured out that mildly stoned employees will be more complacent.
Advocacy for Cannabis use, my personal experiences (Score:5, Insightful)
I am pro cannabis use. I mainly used cannabis for recreational use until I had a snapped Achilles tendon, at that point I started using it for pain control under the advice of my doctor. When I used it in that manner the amount of cannabis I consumed increased dramatically however the pain would no longer interrupt my sleep which allowed me to heal better. Once the pain subsided I found I was a bit sick of smoking it so I stopped.
The withdrawal symptoms, for me, were mild, for the first week I had a bit of trouble sleeping and I was a bit grumpy. By the second week I was sleeping well and I had a lot of dreams. It took me a few years before I felt like consuming cannabis recreationally and my consumption has always been punctuated this way. It takes me about a 4-6 weeks to consume 1/4 of an ounce recreationally.
5 years ago I suffered a head injury whilst defending myself from an assault (they were charged). I avoided cannabis use whilst I recovered because it was an inappropriate selection for pain control while my cognition was impaired. Simple math I would normally do was inaccessible. I even tested it by timing calculations I would do in my head, to which my doctor told me off and said "What part of DO NOTHING did you not understand? Go home and be bored.". I later discovered that you impair the parts of the brain you use during a head injury. Consuming cannabis in this case is a very bad idea. It took two months to recover from the head injury after which I was just fine.
However the head trauma was masking an associated triple nerve root compression in C4, C5 and C6 in the neck which became exposed about a month after I returned to work from the head injury. The pain was excruciating, I consumed 200 paracetamol in a month while the doctors, who were somewhat embarrassed, were now overly cautious because they missed it. I lost a lot of muscle mass from one side of my body and the neurosurgeon told me I could stay that way or have surgery in which I also risked quadriplegia.
I took the risk on the surgery and am happy to say I'm ambulant. However that was the beginning of 8 months of recovery on opioids (Oxycontin) and nervous systems suppressors. I was in no condition to do anything whilst I recovered. I realized how disconnected I felt using opioids so, again, I discussed using cannabis as pain control with the doctor and was able to sleep for up to 16 hours per day. I could not wait to get off opioids, I begged the doctor to prescribe me a lower dose however I was kept on them as they were still cautious.
When I compare the withdrawal of cannabis to opioids, there is no comparison. I hated how I would wake up every morning with my autonomic respiration shut down gasping for breath, the visual hallucinations scared the fuck out of me, my reflexes were slow. Weening myself of prescribed oxys was, literally, a night and day mare. I still had nervous system suppressors to withdraw from as well. I used cannabis (in oil and edible form) to control the withdrawal from both whilst continuing to use it to control pain.
For that 5 years I've had weekly physiotherapy (dry needling) and chiropractic which is very confronting but a necessary part of mobilizing my neck. Every week I have about 50x4 inch needles stuck in various parts of my body and the scariest part is when they are in my neck.
12 months ago I reported to my doctor that I thought I was over the worst of the pain so I decided I would stop using cannabis. To my horror, the pain re-emerged and the experience of it has cost me employment twice because I've been in to much pain and exhausted to interact with people properly. The pain takes the form of headaches so bad that my nose bleeds and I overcome any fear of needles in my neck. Emotional intelligence is difficult when you experience those levels of pain. I resumed my cannabis use (oil only now) and was able to reduce it to once a week so that I get at least one decent sleep per week as I, mercifully, reach the end of my rec
Re: Advocacy for Cannabis use, my personal experie (Score:2)
accident rate (Score:2)
Well, expect the injury rate to go even higher.
Of Course amazon wants legal weed (Score:2)
They want to sell it. Expect, in a few years:
"Amazon's "budding" new weed service is pushing out established growers. MindRoot, a 76 year old weed entrepreneur, complains that "Man, Amazon is forcing all us little guys out! We grow it for the spritual communion, they're just in it for the cash! Capitalism sucks the soul!"
Wait till they start selling... (Score:2)
Legalization is a done deal - just a matter of when. They're getting ahead of the curve (at no cost to them) so they can go ahead and be "leaders" in the move to commercialize the sale of weed.
Not that I welcome our new drug overlords but I think it's inevitable. Amazon Prime Baked delivery?
Did too many workers test positive? (Score:1)
Why do I get the sense that too many workers tested positive which lead to not enough workers or increased cost of constantly hiring new ones and training them?