There are currently too many barriers to entering the legal cannabis industry in California and hopefully many of them will be eased or eliminated when the agencies overseeing the state’s legal weed finalize their regulations sometime next month. That will mark more than two years since Californians passed Prop 64 and will be the first time that we truly know what the legal landscape will look like.

80% of the country is still dealing with a patchwork of unique medical marijuana laws or outright cannabis prohibition. As these states look to the future, with the benefit of watching those that blazed the trail before them, there are some fundamental planks that we believe must form the foundation for any effective and thorough cannabis reform.

Facing state and federal cases, along with shareholder and other related lawsuits, we hope this is the last we see of Insys, but the reality is that scum like this usually finds its way back to the surface so the cannabis community must remain vigilant.

Growers and manufacturers spend even more time and money doing preliminary R&D product testing hoping to identify and eliminate any issues before the crucial final compliance testing. But what good does that do if every lab is using different equipment, following different operating procedures, and in some cases, just outright faking the results?

Whether it is in men or women, young or old, the endocannabinoid system regulates our overall well-being in a myriad of ways – from how your mood is balanced when you talk to how your weight is balanced when you walk. So when this system suffers, the side effects can be wide ranging… like with menopause.

As we know, there is more to cannabis than just THC and CBD but with this new understanding of those two major building blocks, researchers will certainly shift their focus to the other supporting cannabinoids and the highly sought after terpenes that round out the full entourage effect of the miraculous, and now slightly less mysterious, cannabis plant.

Some wonder how a person can effectively navigate an industry founded on such a deep and rich culture if they have not, and are not, a part of that culture. Others compare it to running a pharmaceutical company saying that you don’t have to eat painkillers in order to sell them. On the other hand, those who readily admit their cannabis use probably benefit from their openness by adding an air of legitimacy and authenticity to their brand through their genuine embrace of the plant.

From our own experience, and from the stories we hear all the time in the cannabis community, we already know that cannabis use can absolutely mute the frightening effects of PTSD. Clearly, the federal government has not been listening to you or to us so far, but hopefully this FDA-approved study will bear the results we expect and can move the battle lines forward in the war against cannabis prohibition.

Erickson’s report claimed that the blunt was found “in plain sight”, even though both officers searched the area unsuccessfully, and Pastran’s body camera footage shows no such evidence. What Officer Erickson apparently didn’t realize is that somebody smarter than him already thought of the ol’ broken camera trick and his body camera had a feature built in that somehow allowed it to record 30 seconds of footage before Erickson reactivated it.

They have 19 licensed cannabis facilities operating in 13 states with imminent plans to expand that to 66 retail outlets, but here’s the catch. . . none of them are profitable. That’s right, in an industry where 90% of legal dispensaries report profitability, and 40% of them can claim profits in excess of $500k+/yr, somehow MedMen’s mids aren’t making money.

Cannabis, even in legal states, still carries a negative stigma with many Americans,  and those opposed to legalization efforts are not only working overtime to perpetuate that stigma, but they are actually starting to weaponize it.

With a substantially higher margin of victory than even the already impressive races at the top of the ticket, clearly cannabis carried some clout into Election Day. But remember, there were two other proposals on Michigan’s ballots that day, and together with weed, they form a blueprint for future electoral success in all points on the political map.

For two unrelated men that share not only a last name, but also an extreme hatred for the cannabis plant, both Jeff Sessions and Pete Sessions find themselves out of a job today for very different reasons. But the cannabis community isn’t too picky and we’re glad to see them both go for any reason.

Gemini Finance Corp. reacted to the cancellation of the Chalice Festival in July by foreclosing on a $587,000 loan that they had out to event organizers. Sensing blood in the water, the sharks at High Times swooped in and gobbled up a $560,000 debt to purchase the rights to the future of the Chalice Festival. Yep, High Times now owns Chalice…sort of…

Tomorrow is Election Day in America and the stakes surrounding the results of races for the Senate and Congress all the way down to your local representatives couldn’t be higher. Voting is a fundamental right of being an American, and your vote absolutely matters. These four states vote on cannabis legalization tomorrow - here’s what you need to know.

At the beginning of Part I we told you that we were actually starting in the middle of the saga, and at the end, we wondered where Matt “Bubba” Berger got the Florida-held genetics that were eventually brought out west - and that’s the story we have for you today.

The BCC is receiving commentary through November 5th on this issue, and all issues raised by this final set of proposed regulations. Many beneficial changes to these proposed regs have come about thanks to the tireless work of cannabis advocates like you reaching out to the BCC and offering your perspectives. By the end of this year, your voice on this issue may be silenced so if you want to speak up do it now.

For decades, rebel weed growers kept their identities, and their stories, closely guarded. As the popularity of the OG Kush strain and all of its variants skyrocketed, alleged stories of its origin began floating around – most of them completely devoid of truth. So now those with key parts of the story to add are ready to set the record straight on the origins of OG Kush.

The regulatory authorities that oversee California’s struggling rollout of “legal weed” have until December 3rd to release their final draft that will define state law for years to come.

The Beard Bros. Pharms “Cannabis Trailblazer Series” is a multipart installment that will highlight some of the heroes that have laid the foundation for the cannabis movement as we now know it. This report gives an inside look at an organization near & dear to our hearts - the Weed for Warriors Project

With public demand for cannabis legalization at an all-time high, and only on the rise, it is crucial that we recognize that those rights are for all Americans, regardless of race. And until the law sees it that way too, we’ve all got work to do.  

One of the fundamental barriers to true, nationwide legalization here is, and has always been, the fact that you can grow it in your backyard and cut Uncle Sam out of the middle. But, ten years from now, will that be the only place to get an actual bag of weed?

What a whirlwind week it was for MedMen who announced a series of moves that will increase their business canopy to 12 states, 66 retail outlets & 13 totally legal large-scale grow ops... Their next move is anyone's guess...

We have to be very careful as advocates of the cannabis plant to not oversell, or overpromise, its medicinal benefits. Cancer takes many different forms and affects people in different ways - as does cannabis. But there is some compelling data, backed by thousands of pieces of anecdotal evidence, that suggests that while cannabis might not always cure cancer, it is always worth a shot.

Mickey was doing weed shit before we knew it could be done, and he was the first to remind you of that. If you love this plant like we love this plant, you have to be willing to sacrifice everything for it. Mickey sacrificed more than most.

Fueled by the tireless work over at CANORML, here is our quick recap of all marijuana related legislation that made it to the governor and how it all fared against his weed-hating veto pen.

Many experts agree that it is very possible to increase the delivery rate by which THC enters one’s system, and the most effective way so far has been through the use of cannabis suppositories which can deliver 80% of the cannabis plant’s medicinal value to a patient in need. That’s right – in many cases, ingesting cannabis by mouth is far less effective than approaching the situation from a different angle.