Marijuana: Business Owners Beware by Roger Morgan
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MARIJUANA: BUSINESS
OWNERS BEWARE!
Marijuana is not a harmless drug. With THC
content starting at 15% and ranging as high as 96%, it is no longer a soft
drug. It doesn’t kill by overdose but it is a gateway to drugs that
currently kill 129 Americans daily, almost all of whom started their journey
with pot. But overdose isn’t the only adverse outcome of marijuana
use. If you are a business owner or operator, it behooves you to know the
following:
The Human Cost of Marijuana -
For the sake of your families and employees, it behooves you know that pot can
cause permanent brain damage and loss of IQ by up to 8 points;
psychotic breaks that have and are leading to violent acts and suicides, mental
illness including schizophrenia, paranoia, bi-polar disorder and suicidal
depression; addiction, more than for any other drug; birth defects; cancer and
respiratory problems; and is a major cause of traffic fatalities. Any or
all can adversely affect employees. Employers have a moral and possibly
legal right to expect a safe and drug-free environment.
US Post Office – A
US Post Office study revealed that marijuana users had 75% more absenteeism,
caused 55% more industrial accidents and 85% more injuries.
(NIH) Marijuana use by employees adversely affects productivity and your
insurance rates, while posing a safety problem for other employees and
potentially the general public. Employers could be held liable for
impaired drivers or machine operators who cause an injury accident while on the
job.
Marijuana Negatively Affects
attention, memory, learning and cognition. Being fat soluble, it stays in
the body and brain for 30 days, compounding with each additional hit. A
recent UC Davis study showed that young people who consume cannabis will have
lower incomes, greater welfare dependence, more criminal behavior and lower
life satisfaction, meaning they won’t be your star employees. A study in
Sweden of 45,000 reported by CBS revealed that 40% of teens who were heavy
marijuana users died before age 60.
Addiction and Mental Illness -
More people (9% of adults, 17% of adolescents) are addicted to marijuana than
any other drug. Addicts can’t work effectively, if at all. To feed
their habit they have to steal or turn to other crimes. Today’s highly
potent pot affects people differently, but roughly 30% of users have a use
disorder, which includes addiction, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, et al.
none of which can be condoned in a safe, drug-free and productive work place.
Impact on Society and Customer Base –
It is important to remember than only 8% of the adult population consumes pot,
mostly at the expense of the 92% who don’t. Cultivation sites consume
massive quantities of water (6 gallons per day per plant), pollute the earth
and water tables pesticides and fertilizers, kill animals with rodenticides and
diminish the quality of life and real estate values. Having a safe,
healthy community is more important to most businesses than catering an
industry that earns their living through illicit drugs.
Economic Impact of Drug Use
adversely impacts everyone. The life-time cost of a high school dropout
is $392,000 (UC Santa Barbara Research). A study called Shoveling Up,
done (www.casacolumbia.org)
at Columbia University showed that in 2005, 19.5% ($19.9 billion) of the
California budget was absorbed by substance abuse, of which marijuana is a
major factor. Less than 1/3rd of
1% was spent on prevention and the balance shoveling up the damage and treating
the wounded. This horrible economic policy affects us all as taxpayers
and business owners. This State policy still exists today, and needs to
change.
Employers would do well to require a drug test
before hiring, and implement a policy of random drug testing as a
deterrent. Employers have the right to reject employment for anyone who
uses marijuana. Doing so would be sound, safe and responsible
policy.
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR ….
ROGER
MORGAN Chairman/Founder,
Take Back America Campaign,
20
year anti-drug activist dealing with drug prevention at the local, state and
national level. (www.tbac.us). Formerly Chairman and
Executive Director of the Coalition for A Drug-Free California. Owner/CEO of
Steelheart International LLC, engaged in international business development and
has been an entrepreneur and businessman in California for 35 years. He
was Founding Chairman of the Coronado SAFE Foundation in 1997, a non-profit
dealing with drug prevention; prior Board Member of the San Diego Prevention
Coalition; member of the National Coalition for Student Drug Testing; and
Special Advisor to the Golden Rule Society in Coronado.