Shady marijuana industry also killing migrant workers

  • 📰 dcexaminer
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 34 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 17%
  • Publisher: 94%

South Africa News News

South Africa South Africa Latest News,South Africa South Africa Headlines

As we have noted many times in this space, marijuana is not a harmless drug. It is extremely detrimental to human health, especially to young people. It can cause permanent brain damage and psychosis, and it shows up at alarming rates in the bloodstream of people killed in traffic accidents.

But what is discussed less frequently is the impact of marijuana legalization on the communities where it is actually grown.All over California, both legal and illegal grows have cropped up since legalization. Indeed, the black market still dominates the marijuana trade even where it is legal. It may sound crazy, but it has proven cost-prohibitive for rural sheriff's departments and police forces to shut down illegal grows.

According to the report, at least 35 workers were killed on marijuana farms between 2016 and 2021. Working conditions are extremely hazardous, and the growers are all too eager to cut corners. For example, 20 of those 35 workplace deaths were due to carbon monoxide poisoning in greenhouses, and carbon monoxide detectors are available at big box stores starting at $10.

These workers are often violently threatened and sometimes exposed to dangerous levels of both legal and illegal pesticides. The main effect of legalization on these workers is that their wages have collapsed — if their employers are even gracious enough to bother to pay them.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

You just never quit serving your lord and masters in Big Pharma and Big Alcohol. Pathetic.

but must keep the border open for the 1 cause of drug deaths

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in ZA

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines