The California Department of Fish and Wildlife discovered numerous environmental crimes that took place at an illegal cannabis growth in Tehama County. The department served a search warrant May 21 for illegal commercial cannabis cultivation on a remote parcel around  30 miles west of Red Bluff, according to a press release issued this week. The suspects allegedly brandished firearms at nearby residents, which forced Fish and Wildlife and local authorities to take immediate action. Around 28,733 illegal cannabis plants were eradicated, 165

The small van, packed with 10 pounds of California-grown, California-certified cannabis flower, left its home base in Imperial County and headed north. The delivery was labeled and packaged to be sold in a state-licensed dispensary in the town of Needles. It didn’t get far. The van was stopped at a Border Patrol highway checkpoint some 20 miles from the actual international border, and the entire load, worth $15,000 in wholesale value, was seized by federal agents, according to the distributor, Movocan. Such is the

In a scathing report on Santa Barbara County’s cannabis regulations, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury lambasts county officials for behaving unethically, and creating rules that cost the county financially and compromise quality of life. “Santa Barbara County has been in turmoil since the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2016,” according to the 26-page report released last week. “There has been public protest over cannabis odor, controversy between the cannabis industry and traditional agriculture, the appearance of financial irregularities and accusations

Linda Grant sold weed in the streets of East Oakland for 35 years before California legalized marijuana in 2016. She’s been “going through hell” trying to open a licensed business ever since. Five years and two frustrating partnerships later, Grant still has to get a loan to pay for a business storefront before she can even apply for a license to operate. “It’s just ridiculous,” Grant said. “So much heartache, so much pain.” The process is daunting: business plans, tax returns, seed money. Even with

Two years after throwing the doors open on what was set to be one of the most lucrative legal cannabis markets in the nation, Los Angeles hit the reset button Wednesday on its rules and who can get a business license. In 2017, LA laid out its framework for a legal cannabis industry including a component that would give business licenses to people from communities targeted by aggressive policing during an era many say was failed war on drugs. That era, from the 1970s

Still reeling from a spree of what appeared to be organized burglaries a month ago, cannabis businesses across California are preparing to get robbed again over the July 4 holiday weekend. Over the weekend of May 29 to June 1, thieves burglarized cannabis dispensaries, distribution centers, and cultivation in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, and other cities, relieving legal commercial cannabis operations of cash and product. In several documented instances, break-in crews paid repeated visits to dispensaries, breaking in night after night. In

MARTINEZ, CA — The first fully permitted and licensed retail cannabis dispensary in Central Costa County quietly opened its doors in May in Martinez. After a four-year wait, Velvet Cannabis opened at 4808 Sunrise Drive, near the state Highway 4 interchange with Interstate Highway 680. Velvet Cannabis founders Matt Morea and Farid Harrison — both East Bay natives — sought to bring a refined retail experience to the area. The result, they say, is a sleek and sophisticated interior design, an expertly trained staff

The grass could be greener on the other side of November after Smart & Safe Arizona, a citizens' initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use in Arizona, said it filed 420,000 signatures with the Arizona Secretary of State on Wednesday. The signatures must still be validated by the state. But with significantly more signatures than the 237,645 required to qualify for ballot access, the campaign, which began collecting signatures in September 2019 and has raised $3 million since, is optimistic about the future

Press  |  Global Newswire Cannabis’s Title Brand Will Be Able to Deliver Products in the World’s Premiere Market Los Angeles, June 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hightimes Holding Corp., owner of High Times®, the most well-known brand in cannabis, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mountain High Recreation, Inc., a California-based cannabis delivery service. The primarily stock based transaction will bring cannabis distribution infrastructure and personnel to the High Times® brand ahead of the rebranding of the first

The first day of July arrived with public health officials issuing dire predictions about rising rates of COVID-19 infection in the United States. So far, the infection rate in the U.S. has topped 2.6 million, with more than 43,000 cases reported just yesterday. U.S. fatalities number 129,000, accounting for more than a quarter of 512,000 global deaths so far. With the July 4 holiday only days away, media reports said officials in more than a dozen states have rolled back “reopening” procedures, as infection