Editorial: Corporations keep trying to throw out progressive California laws. Do we need reforms?
CORPORATIONS keep trying to throw out progressive California laws. As the Golden State increasingly turns to corporations for help, consumers are on the losing end of many of these attacks.
Two recent examples illustrate what happens when corporations use the legal system to overturn democratic rights in the name of corporate protectionism.
First, in March a group of California hospitals and health systems sued to stop the state’s new medical cannabis law. They argued that marijuana was too dangerous and addictive and that its regulation should be left to the federal government.
The case was kicked off by the American Hospital Association, which is a leading group of hospitals. They argued that the state’s proposed regulations were a “slap in the face” to California. The association complained that “with respect to cannabis, California’s regulations are on par with the federal prohibition of marijuana.”
At last the California Department of Public Health put the hospitals’ fears to the test. The state tested cannabis and declared it to be less dangerous than heroin. The suit was thrown out of court.
This fight illustrates the fight against progressive California law, which has already forced corporations to be more transparent and to pay higher taxes. It also highlights what happens when progressives go to court to stop corporations from doing what consumers already expect.
These types of fights are a common place on the American left. With the Supreme Court deciding Citizens United in 2010, corporations have finally become the political power that America needs.
The California medical cannabis law is now on hold while its supporters in the U.S. try to win over the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the hospitals have now won a ruling that the state’s testing was flawed. The case is still open.
If the Supreme Court continues to take corporations seriously, the medical cannabis law will likely be reinstated.
This is not the only example of
