Dear Business Owners,
We urge you to consider the cost of a cannabis store as your neighboring business. An increase in marijuana smokers in our community could potentially have great impact on your business. The effects of marijuana such as lower IQ, stress, anxiety, and depression would have great negative impacts on employees.
Some of the major outcomes of marijuana use is "...worse educational outcomes, lower career achievement, and reduced life satisfaction." (Know the risks of Marijuana, 2023). These outcomes show that marijuana effects peoples careers and lives extensively. Business owners should be fully aware of the effects and outcomes of marijuana, and make wise decisions accordingly.
The following is what the National Safety Council has to say about the impact of marijuana on the workforce:
How Does Marijuana Use Impact Job Safety?
THC in marijuana affects depth perception, reaction time, coordination and other motor skills, and it creates sensory distortion. For someone operating machinery, driving a forklift or delivering products in a vehicle, these effects can be deadly.
According to a study reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, employees who tested positive for marijuana had 55% more industrial accidents, 85% more injuries and 75% greater absenteeism compared to those who tested negative. Also impacting the bottom line are:
Decreased productivity
Increased worker compensation and unemployment compensation claims
High turnover
Lawsuits
(Marijuana at work)
Cannabis stores have already had negative effects to businesses in the Tri-Cities.
An example of the effects of a cannabis store opening in our community is portrayed in the testimony of a business owner in Pasco, WA. In the following quote of an article entitled "Richland Joins West Richland in Reviewing the Cannabis Ban" by Dr. Eileen Griffin-Ray, it states:
"One existing business, Tri Cities 911 Driving School, has been operating since 2014. Owners, Sid and Margie Grant said they were given no warning about their new neighbor [a cannabis store], but very quickly realized the impact.
Recently, Sid witnessed a fight in the parking lot as people were coming out of the cannabis store. There were two cars with four men in each. The altercation ended without physical violence, but it was concerning for the business owners.
“They were hollering and screaming at each other in the parking lot,” Sid said. “I had to keep my employees inside and pull kids back into the building. I thought it won’t be long before the guns come out.”
Sid said his students must maneuver around people just to get to the building. They now have homeless people and panhandlers in the parking lot. They had a person bring a guitar and put out a hat for money. The other businesses have to work around these activities." (Griffin-Ray, 2024)
Do we want this result in West Richland? Will new wholesome businesses come into our small town if the cannabis store(s) have this same effect on our current businesses? Will our businesses stay in West Richland if this becomes the environment of which they work in? Another thought is- will land developers find it a positive impact to their business when families don't want to buy a house next to a pot shop?
We want business (and more families) in West Richland- but we do not want businesses that will poison our community with a psychoactive, gateway drug that will negatively impact employees that use it and create a non-family friendly environment. West Richland is for families, for wholesome and healthy businesses, and for prosperity and freedom.
Please heavily consider speaking out, or taking actions to help stop cannabis sales from entering our family friendly and business-friendly small town.
As a community we must stand together and vote NO to allowing cannabis sales in West Richland in the upcoming advisory vote on August 6th!
References
Griffin-Ray, E. (2024, May 10). Dr. Eileen Griffin-Ray: Newsbreak. NewsBreak Original. https://original.newsbreak.com/@dr-eileen-griffin-ray-1868830
Know the risks of marijuana. SAMHSA. (2023, February 27). https://www.samhsa.gov/marijuana
Marijuana at work. National Safety Council. (n.d.). https://www.nsc.org/nsc-membership/marijuana-at-work