TEAMSTERS ORGANIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWERS

About 40 employees of an Oakland, Calif., marijuana-growing company
joined the Teamsters union earlier this month, becoming what are
believed to be the first pot growers to unionize in the country.

Employees of the grower, Marjyn Investments LLC, which grows pot for
medicinal purposes, approached the union earlier this year, said Marty
Frates, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 70. The pot-grower's
employees ratified a two-year contract in early September, he said.

Use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is allowed under California
law, although it is still a violation of federal law. Medical-pot
dispensaries are common in big California cities.

Marijuana-legalization supporters tout the unionization as a sign of
the drug's growing legitimacy. The move also boosts Teamsters at a
time of dwindling membership. "We've had our problems," Mr. Frates
said, "so we've had to diversify."

Under the contract, Marjyn employees will make $18 an hour and about
$26 an hour within 15 months, Mr. Frates said. They will also get
health-care and pension benefits.

Clinton Killian, a lawyer who represents Marjyn, said the company
thinks the unionization is a "great idea" that "benefits the company
by giving us a stable, committed workforce in a protected
environment."

Marijuana opponents derided the move. "I think it's pathetic," said
Roger Morgan, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug-Free
California. "I think Oakland is an embarrassment to California to
begin with," for its lax attitude toward pot, "but for the Teamsters
to throw in with them is just over the top and they should know full
well that marijuana is illegal by federal law."

Oakland has one of the country's most accommodating attitudes toward
marijuana. Residents of this Northern California city of 400,000 last
year approved the nation's first pot-specific tax. Oakland's city
council in July voted to allow industrial-scale medical-marijuana
growing in the city.

The city is also home to Oaksterdam University, which teaches students
how to become pot entrepreneurs. Oaksterdam employees are represented
by United Food and Commercial Workers 5, though the workers have not
yet ratified a contract, said leaders at both the school and union.

Californians in November will vote on Proposition 19, which would let
adults possess marijuana and allow local governments to legalize and
tax marijuana sales. A Sept. 2 SurveyUSA poll showed 47% of likely
voters supporting the measure, versus 43% against.