Community Development Director Rob Holmlund found himself navigating some strange territory last week while taking the Eureka City Council’s input on the future of recreation marijuana in the city. Instead of focusing on zoning districts and buffers, Holmlund was left to fact check one councilmember’s understanding of chemical compounds in medical marijuana. He also heard […]
The Week in Weed
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Home-court Advantage
Get your shovel ready — the days of buried cannabis cash may soon come to an end. Congress is set to consider a bipartisan amendment that would allow federally regulated banks to do business with marijuana companies without fear of regulators cracking down. The amendment, authored by Florida Republican Matt Gaetz and Democrat Darren Soto, […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Follow the Money
While hitting the bong might make it harder for you to remember where you put your keys, it may make it easier for grandma to find hers, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, found that the psychoactive compound in marijuana, THC, may reverse brain aging and restore learning […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Don’t Panic, Bro, It’s Science
Researchers at Washington State University are looking for a few brave volunteers to get really high in the name of public safety. The study aims to develop a Breathalyzer to detect marijuana use to help police implement state law, which provides that drivers with five nanograms or more of THC in their bloodstream can be […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Battle Cry
In a May 11 press release, the newly assembled Humboldt County Growers Alliance announced its mission as a trade association of local cannabis farmers and business owners who have pledged “to work in a responsibly regulated industry.” Later in the release, the group states its desire to support the values of Humboldt communities, maintain a […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Puff, Puff, Savings?
If Congress really wants to reduce Medicaid costs, there could be a pretty simple solution: Legalize marijuana. A new study out of the University of Georgia investigating the association between medical marijuana laws and prescription drug spending in Medicaid programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that the 28 states that […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Rules, Sessions and Stinky Weed
The three state agencies tasked with regulating California’s medical cannabis industry released 114 pages of draft rules that are designed to make the industry cleaner and safer, if a bit more expensive to operate in. The rules — which are now circulating for a 45-day comment period that will include a June 1 workshop at […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
How to Not Fuck Up Humboldt
Every year, hundreds of people travel to the Emerald Triangle in hopes of making a few grand trimming cannabis during harvest season. Some use that money to finance further world travel. Some stay in the area, hitting the wall of the region’s limited housing market and washing up in homeless camps. These seasonal workers, dubbed […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Cannabis and Carbon
You may drink your locally sourced tea out of a Mason jar, have gone vegan and hung up your car keys in an effort to combat climate change, but have you estimated the carbon footprint of that dab? Let’s break it down. The average dab — a form of highly concentrated cannabis — contains about […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Farmer to Farmer
The Buckeye Conservancy, a local nonprofit that represents large landowners in Humboldt County, has released an official position paper on the cannabis industry, censuring the “commercial farming, production and marketing of federally illegal marijuana in Humboldt County, and/or its neighboring counties.” The paper, published last month, continues to say: “We realize that the voters of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms?
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman is co-sponsoring legislation introduced to the House last week that would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and regulate it like alcohol. The bill, not so creatively dubbed the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, would place the plant under the purview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Counterpoint
Almost on cue, the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal has published a groundbreaking study indicating that states with medical marijuana programs are seeing substantially lower rates of opioid addiction and overdose. The study, set to be published in the April edition of the journal, is grabbing headlines just weeks after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions […]