These days, there are several articles and studies that suggest that because weed was legalized in CO that there's a direct connection to the rising homeless population. Yes, there's a lot of people that have become homeless since January 2011, but many of them came to Denver for the purpose of making money during the economic boom that is still rolling on to this day. This is not to say that there are not a lot of homeless pot users. Indeed, most of the ones that you see asking for change are using said change to get to their next joint/blunt/bowl/dab, and many have even gotten into the habit of stating it outright on their cardboard signs. I do believe that there are some people who have lost their livelihoods or ability to return to their families from marijuana and other drug use, and to say that otherwise would be a misstep on my part.
However, I've also noticed a sharp rise in employers that both require years of experience and drug test for menial, everyday positions. During my search for employment, I've been seeing more and more simple jobs that pay either minimum wage or near it requiring people to get tested and have "experience" in the field. Why does a person that is going to be washing dishes for $8.50 an hour need to have a resume, two years of experience, and be submitted to drug testing? Is flipping a burger, busing a table, or scrubbing a toilet really that difficult that you have to make people jump through so many hoops just to get the job? Or is it that these businesses are trying to filter out those of us who smoke, knowing that the majority of the younger and poorer population either has smoked or currently does?
Yes, weed has been legalized for adult use in Denver, but the prevailing business culture seems as if it hasn't caught up to accepting that yet. Even though it's perfectly legal for adults 21 and over to have a smoke here in CO, these business owners still think that all pot smokers are lazy and not worth having on staff. Even though there are several examples of successful people that have smoked their entire lives, they still shame and naysay it. Despite the fact that some individuals cannot function properly without it (either mentally or physically), these older, more established Baby Boomers still seems to have the same backward attitude towards it that they had during the days of Reefer Madness.Yet somehow, they don't do the same testing for alcohol, which is under the exact same strictures that weed is here in Colorado. As a matter of fact, some businesses encourage drinking, holding business functions and such with open bars, bottles of wine, and gift baskets with alcohol in them. It is extremely frustrating knowing that one legal substance that has been proven to kill people in several ways is considered perfectly acceptable, all while another that has actually been shown to help certain individuals is still anathema even when it has been legalized.
Yes, businesses have their own prerogatives when it comes to choosing who they hire. No one has to hire any of the thousands of pot smokers there are out here, ones that are willing to work just as hard and are equally as human as non-pot smokers. However, it's absolutely ridiculous that in a state that has made a stand and declared pot to be legal that one can still be disqualified from being able to work because they've consumed it anywhere within two weeks to a month of applying for a job. Just because a person smokes in their free time doesn't make them a bad, lazy, or unfit worker, just as having a drink every now and again doesn't make one a drunkard. Therefore, seeing as they are in the same exact class of substance, Denver businesses should not test for marijuana just as they don't test for alcohol. This double standard is unfair, biased, and based only on the generational hate-mongering and misinformation smearing that has been going on since marijuana was banned in America. I understand testing for harder drugs, but for one that has been approved by the state for general consumption, it makes zero sense and only helps to boost the homeless population that these people look down upon so quickly.
However, I've also noticed a sharp rise in employers that both require years of experience and drug test for menial, everyday positions. During my search for employment, I've been seeing more and more simple jobs that pay either minimum wage or near it requiring people to get tested and have "experience" in the field. Why does a person that is going to be washing dishes for $8.50 an hour need to have a resume, two years of experience, and be submitted to drug testing? Is flipping a burger, busing a table, or scrubbing a toilet really that difficult that you have to make people jump through so many hoops just to get the job? Or is it that these businesses are trying to filter out those of us who smoke, knowing that the majority of the younger and poorer population either has smoked or currently does?
Yes, weed has been legalized for adult use in Denver, but the prevailing business culture seems as if it hasn't caught up to accepting that yet. Even though it's perfectly legal for adults 21 and over to have a smoke here in CO, these business owners still think that all pot smokers are lazy and not worth having on staff. Even though there are several examples of successful people that have smoked their entire lives, they still shame and naysay it. Despite the fact that some individuals cannot function properly without it (either mentally or physically), these older, more established Baby Boomers still seems to have the same backward attitude towards it that they had during the days of Reefer Madness.Yet somehow, they don't do the same testing for alcohol, which is under the exact same strictures that weed is here in Colorado. As a matter of fact, some businesses encourage drinking, holding business functions and such with open bars, bottles of wine, and gift baskets with alcohol in them. It is extremely frustrating knowing that one legal substance that has been proven to kill people in several ways is considered perfectly acceptable, all while another that has actually been shown to help certain individuals is still anathema even when it has been legalized.
Yes, businesses have their own prerogatives when it comes to choosing who they hire. No one has to hire any of the thousands of pot smokers there are out here, ones that are willing to work just as hard and are equally as human as non-pot smokers. However, it's absolutely ridiculous that in a state that has made a stand and declared pot to be legal that one can still be disqualified from being able to work because they've consumed it anywhere within two weeks to a month of applying for a job. Just because a person smokes in their free time doesn't make them a bad, lazy, or unfit worker, just as having a drink every now and again doesn't make one a drunkard. Therefore, seeing as they are in the same exact class of substance, Denver businesses should not test for marijuana just as they don't test for alcohol. This double standard is unfair, biased, and based only on the generational hate-mongering and misinformation smearing that has been going on since marijuana was banned in America. I understand testing for harder drugs, but for one that has been approved by the state for general consumption, it makes zero sense and only helps to boost the homeless population that these people look down upon so quickly.
