Is it legal yet? I mean, we’re 50-something days into a new Democratic administration with Democrats in control of both houses, so what’s the holdup? For years, the lack of any real movement toward federal cannabis legalization — or at least decriminalization — has been blamed (rightfully, in many respects) on recalcitrant Republicans, most notably […]
The Week in Weed
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Puff, Puff, Don’t Pass
Whatever you do, you cannot pass the dutchie to the left hand side. People love to get high. And people love to to do it socially. Those are just inescapable facts. When it’s time to celebrate, they’ll roll one up and pass it around. When the stresses of life come cascading down and it’s time […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Cognalyzers and the Greening of the Bible Belt
Roadside sobriety tests may one day include a brain scan. The Government of Ontario recently awarded a $1 million grant to Zentrela, a tech company that claims it has created technology that can read a person’s brainwaves to see if they’re under the influence of cannabis. Known as the Cognalyzer, the contraption looks like some […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Taxes and Terroir
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors overstepped when it modified the cannabis tax approved by voters in 2016, a judge recently ruled. Passed with 66 percent of the vote, Measure S imposed a $1 to $3 per-square-foot excise tax on commercial cannabis cultivation countywide. Under the language of the measure, the tax was to be […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Payouts in the Park
As the Journal went to press Feb. 25, the city of Rohnert Park was set to approve nearly $1.5 million in payments to settle multiple lawsuits alleging its police force conspired to steal cannabis and cash during illegal traffic stops. The settlements include $287,500 to be paid to Huedell Freeman, a cannabis farmer based in […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Pot that Poked the Bear
One of California’s most powerful cannabis trade groups began backtracking this week after poking one of state politics’ biggest bears: organized labor. The fallout started when the California Cannabis Industry Association issued a “white paper” to its members — which include industry giants like Poseidon Asset Management, Arcview Group, Weedmaps and Harborside Health Center, as […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Pete’s Pot Flop
For a brief, contentious moment, cannabis took center stage at the Feb. 7 Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire when mayor-turned-maybe-kind-sorta frontrunner Pete Buttigieg was pressed about disproportionate drug arrest rates for black residents during his tenure in South Bend, Indiana. “Mayor Buttigieg, under your leadership as mayor, a black resident in South Bend, Indiana, […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Bern One Down
Just days before the Iowa caucus, Sen. Bernie Sanders doubled down on his promise to legalize cannabis if elected president. “On my first day in office, through executive order, we will legalize marijuana in every state in this country,” he told a packed rally of supporters. The cannabis world promptly lost its mind and many […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Lung Roulette
In the umpteenth sign that vaping illicit THC concentrates is a terrible idea, state officials announced Jan. 28 that tests conducted on a random sample of the more than 10,000 cartridges seized in raids of illegal dispensaries in Los Angeles last month yielded some alarming results. Specifically, the tests found that 75 percent of the […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Davos Won’t Save Us
The global elite jumped on their Gulfstreams this week to descend on Davos, a small town of about 11,000 residents in the Swiss Alps, for the 50th annual World Economic Forum, a chance for the globe’s richest people to rub shoulders and talk policy and investment with world leaders. And for the second year in […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Need to Study Weed
The head of the federal government’s medical research agency told C-SPAN recently that cannabis’ status as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act prevents scientists from researching its effects. “Frankly, we know far too little about the benefits and risks of smoked marijuana,” said Francis Collins, who was appointed director of the National […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘A Very Groundbreaking Thing’
Want to invest in a cannabis farm? Well, all you have to do is buy some stock. Santa Cruz-based Goldenseed has become the first cannabis farm in the nation to be cleared for a public stock offering by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with shares hitting the market at $100 apiece. While the stock […]