Ten years ago, the premise for a marijuana institute would have been laughed off of even Humboldt State University’s fertile and notoriously weed-friendly campus. Even one year ago, despite changing political climes and the increasing call for daylight on the North Coast’s shady marijuana industry, the academic minds who created the institute were unsure if […]
Law
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Pot POWs
When a mega-grow gets busted in Humboldt County, it makes a splash in local media — photos of lush greenhouses, irrigation pipes and bricks of processed weed, plus names and numbers (money, pounds, plants) that read like sports stats. What we don’t see are the repercussions of those busts, what becomes of the growers after […]
Posted inNews
Show us yer growler!
Any growler will do, at any brewery — Lost Coast, Six Rivers, Redwood Curtain, you name it — come Jan. 1. That’s when Assemblymember Wes Chesbro’s growler bill goes into effect. A growler (shh, Kiwi!) is a glass beer vessel about 4-pints-hearty, in which beer connoisseurs and picky drunks enjoy refills of fresh-crafted local brews straight from […]
Posted inNews
Attorney General Makes Drug Sentencing Slightly Less Insane
In a possible departure from the Obama administration’s drug war reversals and doublespeak, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that some low-level, nonviolent drug offenders will no longer face long, mandatory minimum sentences in federal prisons. Speaking in front of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates in San Francisco, Holder was quoted as saying, “Too many […]
Posted inNews
Pelican Bay Isolation Case In Court
Oral arguments begin at 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Oakland in the Pelican Bay State Prison solitary confinement case. Ruiz v. Brown, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights last year on behalf of prisoners, alleges that long-term confinement of prisoners inside “secure housing units” (SHU) “is inhumane and debilitating” and psychologically […]
Posted inNews
Jason Warren Murdered Dorothy Ulrich, Sheriff’s Office Says
After an investigation that lasted nearly eight weeks, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has concluded that 28-year-old transient Jason Anthony Warren murdered 47-year-old Hoopa woman Dorothy Evelyn Ulrich on the morning of Sep. 27. The Sheriff’s Office has submitted its findings to the District Attorney and is requesting that charges of homicide and auto theft […]
Posted inNews
SoCal Dispensary Owner Could Face Life in Prison
That’s correct: A cannabis dispensary owner could wind up serving the kind of prison term that’s typically reserved for society’s most heinous and violent criminals. Aaron Sandusky was operating three medical marijuana dispensaries in compliance with state law, but over the weekend a federal jury convicted him of a handful of drug-related charges that carry […]
Posted inNews
Bipartisan Bill Would Protect Medical Marijuana Patients From Feds
What do Lynne Woolsey, Ron Paul and Barney Frank have in common? Okay, yes, they’re all U.S. Congress members (for a few more months, anyway). But more to the point, they’re part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers co-sponsoring a bill that would give valid medical marijuana patients extra cover from federal prosecution. [Update 4:35 p.m.: As if […]
Posted inNews
Bite You In The Face
That’s what the Humboldt marten does to the porcupine, supposedly. And it’s what the Center for Biological Diversity does, too, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fails to do what the Center wants — in this case, protect the minksy little triangle-eared critter, of which there are apparently only 20 left in California and […]
Posted inNews
The End of Occupy Eureka? (UPDATED)
Doesn’t appear that way. As expected, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse at 4 p.m. Wednesday to begin enforcement of the “urgency ordinance” passed by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Prior to their arrival, Occupy Eureka members moved their information tables over the crack in […]
Posted inNews
Kinetic Museum Problem Resolved?
At its heart the press release sent out last week by the Kinetic Universe was a plea for help. “CALLING ALL ANGELS AND ECCENTRIC MILLIONAIRES: SAVE THE KINETIC MUSEUM!” it shouted in its all caps title. The problem laid out by Kinetic Universe President Kati Texas seemed dire: “Despite every effort of fiscal and human […]
Posted inNews
Depends on How You Define ‘Scam’
The Journal was recently alerted to a website with the domain name “betterbusiness.net,” which claims to offer a “215 Friendly Rentals List” for $20. Touting itself as “Humboldt’s #1 rental source,” the site says, “We are Local Advocates who know how hard it is to find a home in Humboldt, especially if you are a Medical […]