California

Oooh, that smell: can it still get you busted?

cannabisWith growing legal and cultural space for cannabis, can the mere smell of the stuff still be sufficient cause for a search that could potentially land you in jail? The answer is that the courts are divided on this question. Meanwhile, cannabis attorneys warn against the fatal error of consenting to a search.

'Wild West' on the East Coast: post-MRTA free-for-all persists in New York

Posted on January 11th, 2022 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , .

NYCThe boom in "gray market" cannabis street sales in the Big Apple since legalization took effect in New York state has now reached the point of actual unlicensed and unregulated storefront dispensaries—which are apparently tolerated. This development is raising skeptical eyebrows from aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs still waiting for Albany to put a regulation structure in place.

Advances for cannabis conviction expungement —and obstacles

Posted on November 18th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

leafNearly 20 states have now approved initiatives or legislation to legalize cannabis, and demands are growing to wipe out past convictions for personal possession. Authorities in some of these states have started to respond—but things are not moving fast enough for advocates of a socially just model of legalization.

Veterans still face VA intransigence on medicinal cannabis

Posted on November 4th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , .

VA medical marijuana accessAmid continued federal intransigence on recognizing cannabis as legitimate medicine for military veterans, advocates take heart in legislation pending on Capitol Hill that would mandate that the VA study the question.

Podcast: the dialectics of cannabis liberation II

Posted on October 25th, 2021 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

cannabisIn Episode 94 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg presents a cannabis harvest season interview with Karla Avila in Northern California's Emerald Triangle. A licensed producer of artisanal outdoor cannabis for the legal market through her homestead-based Flowerdaze Farm, Avila is an advocate for small-scale "legacy" growers through her work with the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance. She is also a founder of the statewide Origins Council, which is seeking to establish official "appellations" for cannabis, certifying a strain's regional origin. Avila discusses the challenges facing small legacy growers who are struggling to keep alive heirloom genetics and ecologically sound cultivation methods in a legal market increasingly dominated by large-scale enterprises on an agribusiness model. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

Will California's new CBD law become de facto national standard?

Posted on October 14th, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

CBDCalifornia has finally taken a step to resolve the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the regulation of hemp-derived CBD — a move that could see the state setting a de facto national standard in light of continued inaction by the US Food & Drug Administration.

Pressure rising on Hmong cannabis growers in California's far north

Posted on August 3rd, 2021 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , .

CaliforniaA disturbing escalation is reported in California’s far-north Siskiyou County, where Hmong immigrants from Laos have been getting in on the cannabis economy—sparking a xenophobic backlash. Conservative politicians are making hay of the tensions, while the local Hmong are starting to stand up and protest.

Cannabis legalization and the potency question

cannabisAs political and legal space opens for cannabis in state after state, the idea of caps on the potency — whether of flower, extracts or edibles — is gaining currency. But voices in the cannabis industry view this as a phobic response rooted in the flawed assumptions of prohibition.

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