There’s little to be gained from continuing to debate the wisdom of legalizing marijuana. It makes more sense to focus on eradicating the black market.
More local taxes threaten to undermine California’s fledgling legal pot industry and drive consumers underground to purchase their weed. Voters should reject proposals on the Nov. 6 ballot for new marijuana business taxes in Union City (Measure DD), Emeryville (Measure S) and unincorporated Contra Costa (Measure R), One key... Read more
It’s that time of year when a potent, skunk-like aroma permeates the Yuba County foothills, causing annoyed neighbors to call Code Enforcement. Though complaints keep Code Enforcement busy year-round, September and October are prime harvest months for marijuana plants grown outdoors. Just Monday, with four inspection warrants, more than... Read more
Sonoma County on Friday touted its efforts to rein in unauthorized cannabis operations after facing criticism from some rural residents who say county officials haven’t done enough to shutter pot farms that don’t have permits. Since the start of last year, code enforcement staff members have forced more than... Read more
Prosecutors in Los Angeles have charged 515 people for helping to run 105 illegal marijuana operations, the City Attorney’s office said Friday. The sweep is part of an effort to level the financial playing field for licensed cannabis businesses, which have suffered by competing with black market operators who... Read more
State authorities teamed up with local police to shut down an unlicensed marijuana shop in Costa Mesa, in what regulators say is the first of many coordinated efforts to target California’s massive black market for cannabis. The bust signals a clear shift, with the state moving from issuing warnings... Read more
A new marijuana task force created by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office served its first search warrant Wednesday, Aug. 22, shutting down what it said was an unlicensed dispensary in Jurupa Valley. Several pounds of cannabis, THC pods, edibles, paraphernalia, wax and vape cartridges were seized, according to... Read more
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two of the first states to broadly legalize marijuana took different approaches to regulation that left Oregon with a vast oversupply and Colorado with a well-balanced market. But in both states prices for bud have plummeted. A new Oregon report by law enforcement found nearly... Read more
NEWBERRY SPRINGS — Along a dusty dirt road in this Mojave Desert outpost 20 miles east of Barstow, U.S. postal worker Jessica Garcia stopped at the few houses dotting Morgan Lane and unloaded packages from the back of her 4-wheel-drive Jeep Wrangler. On this day, the pungent odor of... Read more
