Los Angeles

Hair producer Michael Butler passes on at 95

Posted on November 10th, 2022 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , .

HairMichael Butler, the Tony-winning producer who financed the 1968 Broadway sensation Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, a key moment in the mainstreaming of the '60s counterculture, passed away Nov. 7 in Los Angeles at the age of 95.

Cannabis, ecology and the California fires

CaliforniaThe year 2020's record-breaking wildfires in California and other Western states have compounded the grim impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—and have similarly been politicized. Thus far, the blow they have dealt to the burgeoning cannabis industry has been well weathered. But this will clearly pose a growing challenge in the years to come—as those parts of the country where legal cannabis cultivation is most advanced are also the most vulnerable to this devastating sign of ecological disequilibrium.

California controversies over 'social equity' licenses

Posted on August 3rd, 2020 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaEquity programs for the legal cannabis industry in California are supposed to address the racial and social iniquities that were associated with cannabis prohibition. But finding the right implementation model has proved tricky. And as a recent controversy in Los Angeles indicates, the failure of such programs can have impacts that go beyond who is getting licenses for dispensaries.

The cannabis industry and the Black Lives Matter uprising

leafProtests have spread across the country in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police—a haunting crystallization of institutionalized racism in law enforcement. The protests have been punctuated by looting in many cities, and cannabis businesses have not been spared. How the industry reacts at this moment will reveal much about the soul of America's cannabis community.

Jack Herer legacy lives on in California Cannabis Hemp Initiative

Posted on February 19th, 2020 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

Jack HerrerThe legendary hemp crusader Jack Herer drew up a California ballot initiative for a cannabis economy based on maximum freedom. He did not live to see its passage. But amid growing disillusionment with the Prop 64 legalization model, his heirs believe that in 2020, his hour has posthumously arrived.

Sister Somayah Kambui: early visionary of cannabis equity

Posted on February 4th, 2020 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

Sister SomayahToday equity is a watchword in the cannabis legalization movement, with state and local governments intentionally crafting models for an adult-use market designed to correct the social harms of prohibition and the war on drugs. But this consciousness is due to the work of many who pushed the issue long before doing so was entirely socially acceptable. Sister Somayah Kambui, a veteran Black Panther turned cannabis advocate, was one of those. And before her untimely death, she won  a groundbreaking "jury nullification" victory, upholding her right to provide cannabis to treat sickle-cell anemia.

Legendary Emerald Triangle freedom fighter BE Smith passes on

BE SmithThe Emerald Triangle mourns the passing of BE Smith, the legendary Trinity County grower who did time in federal prison for openly cultivating cannabis under California's medical marijuana law—throwing down the proverbial gauntlet to Washington DC from his mountain homestead. His bold action put the Justice Department on the spot, and helped prompt a change in federal policy.

Cannabis charge weaponized in shocking Los Angeles ICE raid

Posted on July 29th, 2019 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , .

border wallAn ICE raid in the LA district of Echo Park sparked local outrage, with a longtime resident and pregnant mother of two detained for deportation—despite the fact that the agents apparently had no warrant. Her family is now left struggling—and it all seems based on a cannabis conviction from many years ago.

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