Late last Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee passed a $740.5 billion defense spending bill with a key provision that allows for leniency for troops who admit to smoking cannabis. According to a statement released by Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 will grant a one-time waiver, allowing those troops who have used marijuana to re-enlist in the armed services. The military’s current policy bars anyone who admits

The California-based organization connects employers with qualified job seekers and has helped cannabis companies find candidates under San Francisco’s Equity Program. California-based Success Centers launched roughly 40 years ago to assist youth released from detention centers with life skills and employment. Now, the organization has expanded to the cannabis industry, where it helps connect employers with qualified job seekers in the Bay Area with a focus on social equity. Success Centers assists job seekers in multiple industries, from construction to the arts, and hosts

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