University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA.
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Sacramento, CA, USA.
New Solut. 2021 Feb;30(4):311-323. doi: 10.1177/1048291120976134. Epub 2020 Nov 30.
In 2020, medical cannabis is legal in thirty-six states and adult use ("recreational") cannabis is legal in fifteen, despite cannabis remaining illegal at the federal level. Up to 250,000 individuals work as full-time employees in cannabis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, California, Colorado, and other states deemed medical cannabis business as essential, raising occupational challenges and safety issues for cannabis employees. In 2020, interviews were conducted with Ethan, an extraction lab assistant in Las Vegas; Haylee, a trainer with a cannabis company in Sacramento; and Belinda, a Wisconsin-based occupational health and safety trainer, to showcase concerns and experiences in cannabis workplaces and training programs. Findings from interviews reveal pro-worker activities to promote workplace safety and labor unionism while large multistate operators seek to optimize profits and obstruct workers' rights. Knowledge gained through the interviews contributes to discussions to lessen the potential exposure of the cannabis workforce to COVID 19.
2020 年，尽管联邦层面大麻仍属非法，但医用大麻在 36 个州合法，成人使用大麻（“娱乐”用）在 15 个州合法。目前有多达 25 万人全职从事大麻行业。在新冠疫情期间，加利福尼亚州、科罗拉多州和其他州将医用大麻业务视为必要业务，由此给大麻从业人员带来了职业挑战和安全问题。2020 年，我们采访了在拉斯维加斯一家提取实验室工作的 Ethan、在萨克拉门托一家大麻公司工作的培训师 Haylee，以及威斯康星州的职业健康和安全培训师 Belinda，以展示大麻工作场所和培训计划中的关注点和体验。采访结果显示，工人们开展了促进工作场所安全和工会主义的活动，而大型多州运营商则寻求优化利润并阻碍工人的权利。通过采访获得的知识有助于减少大麻劳动力接触新冠病毒的潜在风险。
