The Northern California council of the ILWU, otherwise known as the Longshoremen, announced its support for Prop 19, California’s marijuana legalization initiative. The 25,000-member council cited the extraordinary “waste” of money and lives in the war on marijuana, including marijuana prohibition’s disproportionate impact “on the backs of workers, poor people, and people of color.”

Employees in California’s huge marijuana industry are starting to join unions. One hundred employees in Oakland pot shops – including Oaksterdam University and Blue Sky Coffee Shop, the establishments of California cannabis initiative lead Richard Lee – will announce tomorrow they will join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). The workers all signed cards and will have their union recognized under majority sign-up.