INSIDE: DEAR ABBY, HOROSCOPE, PUZZLES & FEATURES
C1
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • SUNday, MarcH 13, 2022
bendbulletin.com/business
Mentorships in Central Oregon
BEND OUTDOOR WORX
HELPS SCALE BUSINESSES
BY SUZANNE ROIG • The Bulletin
S
ometimes, when you want to do something yourself, you need help — even when your project is to make DYI projects for others.
Just ask Brian Bates and Colin Clark, Bend residents who convert Mercedes brand Sprinter vans into mini RVs. After four years of converting
vans one at a time, Bates and Clark want to make DIY kits, but they’re unsure of how to make the pivot from doing the work themselves to making
kits to sell for others to assemble.
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Colin Clark, left, and Brian Bates, co-founders of Esplori, with a modified Sprinter van at their shop in Bend.
Their company, Esplori Vans, is among
four businesses selected for this year’s
cohort of Bend Outdoor Worx, an out-
door-specific accelerator that offers men-
torship and resources to outdoor startup
businesses. This cohort also includes
Moon Fab, a Memphis, Tennessee-based
portable vehicle awning company, Tough
Cutie, an Austin, Texas, sock company
made for women by women and Tailgate
Industries, a Bend-based goggle case and
accessory company.
Since starting in 2014, Bend Outdoor
Worx has helped 20 outdoor businesses
with a 16-week program that includes
weekly meetings and visits from mentors.
“We are excited to kick off this cohort
with an online hybrid format,” said Gary
Bracelin, founder of the accelerator. “We
help businesses develop road maps for
the next several years and align them with
resources and connections to fulfill their
needs and goals.”
See Worx / C8
Workers who legally use cannabis can still lose their jobs
BY SOPHIE QUINTON
Stateline.org
Thirty-seven states now al-
low adults to use marijuana
medically, recreationally or
both. But in most of those
states, people can be fired or
denied a job for using cannabis
in their free time.
Cannabis legalization advo-
cates want states to do more
to protect workers. They note
that workplace drug tests don’t
measure whether someone is
high at the time of the test, just
whether they’ve used recently.
And they say workplace drug
testing is an equity issue, as tests
are more common in blue-col-
lar jobs and disproportionately
“Going back many, many years, companies have
had employees who have either been hurt or killed,
unfortunately, with marijuana in their systems.”
— Stan Dempsey, Colorado Mining Association president
affect non-White workers.
But certain employers are
required to test for marijuana
under federal law—the federal
government classifies mari-
juana as a dangerous drug akin
to heroin—and others want to
make sure they don’t employ
drug users who could threaten
workplace safety.
So far, 14 states and Washing-
ton, D.C., have banned employ-
ers from discriminating against
workers who use marijuana for
medical reasons. New Jersey and
New York ban employers from
discriminating against work-
ers who legally use marijuana
medically or recreationally. And
Nevada bans employers from
refusing to hire someone solely
because they fail a marijuana
test. The laws generally make
exceptions for certain employers
and occupations.
But bills have stumbled else-
where because of opposition
from business groups and dis-
agreements over how to mea-
sure marijuana intoxication. A
bill filed in Washington state this
session already has been tabled.
A California bill faces an uphill
battle. And, in light of opposi-
tion, a Colorado bill will be soft-
ened to studying the issue.
The initial version of the
Colorado bill would have af-
firmed the right of medical
marijuana patients to use can-
nabis products at work and
would have prevented employ-
ers from firing or refusing to
hire workers who use mari-
juana off the job.
See Cannabis / C3
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times
The Healing Center is a marijuana dispensary, in Needles, California.
Although adults can legally use marijuana in California and many
other states, they still can be fired for failing a workplace drug test.