That may have you wondering if your favorite strain will also be affected? Retail is local for U.S. cannabis enthusiasts. So, global trends don’t have much of an immediate impact when it comes to getting cannabis flower from cultivators (grows) to manufacturers or retail stores (dispensaries).

However, higher fuel prices do impact transport. Plus, the manufacturers of devices like vape pens that rely on foreign metals or parts may see delays and higher prices. But overall, the transportation of cannabis itself is pretty constant, consistent, and straightforward.

According to experts and industry insiders, knowing your state’s rules and regulations is the most significant challenge. Like with everything cannabis, each state has its own requirements when it comes to marijuana’s transport (and the cash associated with it). Ultimately, it comes down to this: Safety first.

Many new businesses—with names like HARDCAR, Plymouth Armor Group, and Speedy Transporter, and staffed primarily by former military and law enforcement types—have cropped up around this new legal industry. And companies like INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing and The Armored Group are turning normal-looking vans into armored vehicles specifically designed for the cannabis industry.

Long gone are the days of dispensary owners stuffing their trunks full of cannabis and taking it from the grow to the store. The pros have taken over transporting marijuana from the cultivator to the retailer, and they’re usually doing it in an fortified, bullet-proof vehicle.

But those pros face unique challenges beyond finding the right armored vehicle and security veterans to transport cannabis and its cash. Federal prohibition means that banking cannabis companies is technically illegal, so cannabis is still a cash-heavy business. And that illegal status at the national level means that transporting cannabis or money associated with it across state lines is a crime, too.

Companies like Plymouth Armor Group, which serves cannabis companies in multiple states across New England, must cross their T’s and dot their I’s and know every rule surrounding the transport of the plant in each state that it works.

In a recent interview with cannabis recruiting firm Vangst, Plymouth CEO Abbe Schnibbe and the former owner of Colorado’s first licensed cannabis transport business, Amy Sharp, gave their top advice for people looking to get into the transport business:

1. Insurance should be priority No. 1. And insurance is notoriously difficult to get in the cannabis industry

2. Law enforcement is your friend. The cops in legal states are no longer the weed-seller’s nemesis. You need them on your good side. Sharp said that goodwill goes both ways. The police appreciate an inside look at the business, its schedule, and what certain documents look like, and they’ll reciprocate that respect by looking out for you on the road.

3. Maintain strong relationships with banks and credit unions. These financial institutions are used to dealing with armored vehicles and understand state rules. For example, some states don’t allow armed guards to travel in trucks. That’s an important thing to know. And these financial institutions, which are already taking a considerable risk by working with a cannabis company, will want you to be as compliant as possible.

4. A cannabis transporter might be moving a lot of product and big money, but they shouldn’t expect to make bank. The overhead is high, and they’re technically plant-touching businesses, meaning they’re subject to Tax Code 280E.

Tax Code 280E is the cannabis industry’s No. 1 foil. The Reagan-era rule means that companies selling federally illegal narcotics, like marijuana, can’t claim the same tax deductions as other businesses. Thanks to that law, many cannabis companies see effective tax rates as high as 80%.

So when it comes to transporting cannabis from the grow to the store, U.S. consumers rarely need to worry about a supply-side crunch. But the people transporting the plant do have a lot on their plate.

By WILL HOUSTON | whouston@marinij.com

Novato’s second round of prospective cannabis business owners received unanimous approval from the City Council.

The council voted last week to conditionally approve three businesses, including a new cannabis delivery business, a 7-year-old cannabis testing laboratory and an all-in-one microbusiness. The businesses must receive state licenses and then return to the city for final approval before they can receive a city license.

The proposed Marin Haven would become the city’s second cannabis delivery business and is proposed to be located at 4 Commercial Drive. Attempts to contact Marin Haven owner Suzanne Brogger on Monday were unsuccessful.

The Velvet Fog Cannabis Co. also received conditional approval from the council. The microbusiness, which would include cannabis product manufacturing, distribution and delivery services, had previously received council approval as part of the first round of cannabis business applicants in 2021.

At the time, Velvet Fog was set to be located at 5400 Hanna Ranch Road, but now proposes to set up shop in a warehouse at 11 Digital Drive because of construction delays at the previous location. The company’s chief executive officer, Michael Clarkson, said he and his business partners plan to open in July or August depending on how the state and local permitting processes last.

Clarkson said they decided to start the business because he felt the cannabis industry focuses too much of its marketing and its jargon toward younger adults, but does not give enough attention to older adults.

“It’s something I think we can provide that niche in the market in our local Marin County,” Clarkson said on Monday.

The third license went to CB Labs, which has been operating since 2015 under the city’s medical marijuana program.

After adopting an ordinance in 2019 to allow for recreational cannabis businesses in Novato, the council inadvertently caused CB Labs to be out of compliance and ineligible for a license. The lab at 1615 Hill Road is located within 600 feet of the Hill Education Center at the Hill Recreation Area, which violated the city’s minimum setback rules for businesses near youth centers such as schools and playgrounds. To address this, the council reduced the minimum setbacks for testing laboratories last year to a range of up to 300 feet, with the distance at the council’s discretion.

“I’m grateful to the city of Novato for allowing us to continue to operate,” CB Labs co-owner Scot Candell, a Larkspur city council member, said on Monday. “We look forward to many years of a flourishing partnership in the future.”

All three businesses are inaccessible by the public. The city does not allow storefront retail sales of cannabis.

While the city does not have a special tax for cannabis businesses, it does enter into “community benefit agreements” where the businesses provide the city or other organizations such as nonprofits a percentage of its gross receipts each year. All three businesses will be providing 1.5% to 4% of their gross receipts in these agreements.

The city staff now plans to accept delivery business applications year-round. While the city has put a cap on the number of licenses it gives out to other businesses, such as cultivation or manufacturing operations, no cap exists for delivery businesses.

“Those are most of the inquiries I get,” Novato senior management analyst Will Morat told the council. He said requests come in every few weeks, if not weekly.

While a majority of Novato voters approved Proposition 64, the statewide ballot measure in 2016 that legalized recreational cannabis in California, some residents have expressed opposition to the change.

“I don’t have a whole lot of appreciation for the City Council allowing pot stores to open in Novato,” resident Sam Roth told the council.

By ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN | Times-Standard

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors appointed 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn to serve as a county representative for the California Cannabis Authority (CCA) Tuesday following 5th District Supervisor Steve Madrone’s decision to resign from the appointment. Bohn will represent Humboldt County for the CCA alongside county Treasurer-Tax Collector John Bartholomew.

“The CCA is a Joint Power Authority created by contract between counties with cannabis regulatory or taxing authority,” according to the staff report. “The purpose of the organization is to develop and manage a statewide data platform that will gather, collect, and analyze information from a myriad of data sources into one resource, to help local governments ensure cannabis regulatory compliance and also provide necessary information to financial institutions that wish to work with the cannabis industry.”

Bohn emphasized the need for “more unity” between counties and the Department of Cannabis Control to deliver an across-the-board approach to cannabis taxation.

“I would do it. I mean, it’s not like I don’t have enough committees or anything else. But, I think, after watching yesterday and the importance of getting a focused across the board situation so everybody is on the same page (is important),” he said, referring to the board’s decision to slash the county’s cannabis cultivation tax Monday.

Bartholomew noted that he has served on the CCA “since before it was established as an organization” but questioned whether the $28,000 annual membership was really worth it.

“Data can be tracked from Humboldt County and thereby make the platform that CCA offers useful for county operations and understanding of what’s happening within the cannabis industry here in Humboldt County. Unless the county is going to do that, I don’t know that there’s a lot of value in staying active with the CCA because it’s costing I think $28,000 a year,” he said. “I hate to say this because I’ve been a huge supporter of CCA since the beginning. …I think the county should decide if operators will be required to participate on the CCA platform or not. If not, your board should make a decision for what kind of value the CCA is really providing to the county.”

Bohn made a motion to sit on the board in the meantime. Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson offered a second.

Madrone agreed and encouraged the board to consider a future agenda item regarding future CCA membership.

“The main reason (other counties) are involved, as I understand it, is because they use it as an enforcement tool in terms of trying to use the metric data to figure out if farmers are reporting accurately or not,” he said. “Frankly, it does nothing for enforcement, for compliance, or unlicensed applicants because that’s not the way it’s set up and it costs $28,000 a year for the county to be involved in this and we get very little value out of that.”

County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes said staff could bring back an agenda item to reevaluate the board’s involvement with the CCA at a future date. “Supervisor Madrone and I did discuss this yesterday and given the reductions to the excise tax revenues, this can also be incorporated into the budget process as well,” she said.

During public comment, Natalynne DeLapp, executive director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance, expressed her support for Bohn’s appointment to the CCA and asked whether it would be possible for California counties involved with the CCA to negotiate a lower cost for membership. DeLapp also thanked the board for approving tax relief for cannabis cultivators.

The board ultimately voted 4-1, with Madrone dissenting for an unknown reason, to appoint Bohn to the CCA.

Isabella Vanderheiden covers Humboldt County government, environment and cannabis news for the Times-Standard. Isabella earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Humboldt State University and has written for several Humboldt County news outlets.

By the Department of Cannabis Control

Cannabis equity businesses can now request a license fee waiver from the Department of Cannabis Control. 

Cannabis entrepreneurs affected by the War on Drugs can have their license or renewal fee waived, following the approval of emergency regulations issued by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). These regulations implement Senate Bill (SB) 166, signed into law on September 23, 2021, which outlined broad criteria for the waivers and mandated that DCC have a fee waiver program in place by January 1, 2022.

“Access to capital is the number one challenge for equity operators, and the approval of these regulations puts much-needed financial support into the hands of businesses immediately,” said Nicole Elliott, DCC Director.

Fee Waiver Eligibility

The cannabis business must meet the following criteria:

• Equity ownership: Individuals who meet the equity criteria own 50% or more of the business.
• Gross revenues: The business has gross revenue of $1.5 million or less per year. If a new applicant, the business expects gross revenue of $1.5 million or less for the first year.

Equity owners must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Cannabis conviction or arrest: The owner was convicted of or arrested for a cannabis offense before November 8, 2016.
• Household income: The owner’s household income is less than or equal to 60 percent of the Area Median Income for the local jurisdiction where they live.
• Neighborhood: The owner lived for at least five years between 1980 and 2016 in an area disproportionately impacted by past criminal justice policies implementing cannabis prohibition. Learn more about qualifying neighborhoods, or use our map tool to see if you lived in a qualifying area.

If you participate in your local jurisdiction’s equity program, you can show you meet the equity criteria through an attestation on the fee waiver form. If you don’t participate in your local equity program or are in a jurisdiction without an equity program, you can submit documents to show your eligibility. 

Resources for Equity Businesses:

New Web Pages

The state cannabis website, cannabis.ca.gov, has two new pages that explain the eligibility criteria and steps to request a fee waiver.

• Eligibility criteria: Describes criteria that businesses must meet to receive a fee waiver. This web page includes:
  • An interactive map to help owners determine if they meet residence criteria
  • A chart of area median income, by county of residence, to help owners determine household income limits
• Apply for an equity fee waiver: Outlines steps for new license applicants or existing licensees to request a fee waiver

Guidance Document

DCC created a guidance document that describes the equity fee waiver program. The document includes:

• A description of eligibility criteria
• A list of documents that can be used to demonstrate eligibility
• Steps to request a fee waiver

Request Form

Download the fee waiver request form. The form will help you submit information needed to evaluate your eligibility.

By  ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN | ivanderheiden@times-standard.com |

For the last year, Humboldt County’s cannabis farmers have struggled to make ends meet as the price per pound of cannabis continues to fall as a result of massive overproduction across the state.

Many agree that decreasing the costs of production and eliminating the state cultivation tax would be the quickest path to immediate relief for cannabis farmers. Some say the key is branding and developing a marketing strategy that will help secure Humboldt County’s name as a world-renowned producer of high-quality sun-grown cannabis. Further integrating the cannabis industry into the local tourism industry is yet another strategy that could uplift small farmers.

While there is no silver bullet to saving the industry, one thing is clear: The legacy must be preserved.

Leveling the playing field

The Humboldt County Growers Alliance, a trade association that represents 275 licensed cannabis businesses in Humboldt County, recently joined the Origins Council as a regional partner for state and federal cannabis advocacy. The Origins Council, which also represents the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance and the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, is the largest membership-based cannabis advocacy organization in the state representing nearly 900 licensed cannabis businesses across California.

By unifying the three Emerald Triangle counties with other major cannabis producers across the state, Natalynne DeLapp, executive director for the HCGA, said Humboldt County will be in a better position to advocate at the state and, ultimately, federal level.

Budtenders show patients different strains of marijuana in jars at a local dispensary. (Shaun Walker/ Times-Standard)

“One of the biggest costs of production is the state cultivation tax, which is a set fixed rate that recently went up which only added insult to injury,” DeLapp said. The cultivation tax for flower per dry-weight pound will increase from $154.40 per pound to $161.28 beginning Jan. 1, 2022, according to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration. “Sun-grown farmers that are only getting $300 a pound are being disproportionately impacted whereas indoor operators are getting a much higher rate per pound. We need to deal with that discrepancy.”

Julie Benbow, executive director of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, echoed DeLapp’s call for immediate tax relief. “The difficult situation right now is that the legal cannabis farmers in Humboldt County, not only have their prices tanked but they are taxed a huge amount of money per pound,” she said.

Ken Hamik, operating partner of the Ganjery cannabis dispensary in McKinleyville, chair of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau’s marketing committee, agreed that “tax relief should be at the top of the agenda.”

“Just write them off, give the farmers a pass this year. Prices have been historically low and it’s no fault of theirs, it’s a big fault of the regulations,” he said. “We are who we are because of our small farmers. If we do not give small farmers the proper pathway to viable business, then Humboldt County is in trouble. Legacy farmers need to be protected immediately.”

Keeping the legacy alive

As the 1960s drew to a close, hippies looking to start anew headed to Humboldt County in what would later become the back-to-the-land movement. Once there, they erected little houses in the hills and many began growing cannabis. These are the people who would lay the foundation for Humboldt County’s cannabis legacy.

“Is Southern Humboldt the birthplace of American cannabis culture? I would say so,” said Rio Anderson, owner and operator of Lady Sativa Farms in Southern Humboldt. “The intellectuals that left San Francisco in the 1960s decided to create a land-based living that was anti-industrial and communal and took care of its citizens. I actually don’t think they’re really viewed as our legacy farmers. The legacy farmers that we talk about are the sons and daughters of those back-to-the-landers.”

As legacy farmers, Anderson said it is critical to keep local history intact.

“We’ve got to evolve, but we also can’t lose sight of who we are and who we were,” he said. “But we have to be real about our history and how it was in the 70s and through the 90s when it was very anti-cannabis here. That’s got to be a part of the story, too.”

To keep the legacy alive, legacy operators must be protected, DeLapp said.

“My mission is to preserve, protect and enhance Humboldt County’s world-renowned cannabis industry. Right now, we need to preserve as many of our legacy operators as possible,” she said. “We have not lost them, there are still thousands of them that have held on through this crisis, but we don’t know how many we might lose in this next year. We need to preserve as many of our legacy operators as possible because we’re not creating a new batch of them.”

DeLapp likened it to environmental conservation.

“We need to protect and ensure that our county and state policies are not detrimental to their health and habitat — I think of this like endangered species,” she said. “… We need to make sure that the habitat is conducive and not actually detrimental to their health, which is questionable at both the state and local levels. Then we need to enhance them, which means helping promote their stories, promoting their brands and it’s not just the people who are still part of the industry.”

If legacy cultivators are able to hang on, Humboldt County’s cannabis industry might have a fighting chance. “The legacy is important for the future, not the past,” Hamik said.

Integrating cannabis into local tourism

Matt Kurth, owner of Humboldt Cannabis Tours, said the best way to protect the county’s legacy is to bring people here.

“We all know that this magical place truly has to be experienced,” he said. “How do you take a photo of the Redwoods or a video of a cannabis farm just before harvest? People must be present to experience these things. Cannabis tourism is the only option for Humboldt County if we are to remain economically and culturally relevant into the future. I say this after much thought and soul searching about my motivations.”

Matt Kurth (Times-Standard file)

Kurth started Humboldt Cannabis Tours, California’s first cannabis tour company, ahead of statewide legalization in 2015. He offers tours to legal cannabis businesses across Humboldt County. To date, he’s conducted more than 400 tours with more than 1,000 guests.

“Everyone is really worried about the consequences to our community of the market continuing to collapse. They are leaning more into tourism as it provides a diverse income stream and more stability,” he said. “… We need to move away from selling pounds and shift towards selling experiences.”

Kurth envisions Humboldt County becoming the France or Napa Valley of cannabis.

 “Napa and France wine economies are heavily reliant on tourism. Wine tourism is a $5 billion industry in France and accounts for 25% of wine’s economic impact. In Napa, wine tourism contributes about $2.23 billion to their economy, that is about 30% of wine production’s impact,” he said. “A large part of what makes France France is tourism.”

Benbow agreed that cannabis tourism “has the potential to be a really strong player” in the future of the cannabis industry.

“There is quite a bit of cannabis tourism already. Humboldt Cannabis Tours, the owners of the Scotia Lodge and Humboldt Bay Social Club offer consumption at their hotels, Papa & Barkley Social is a new cannabis lounge in Eureka, there’s really a lot going on already,” she said. “…I’d say that as a major player in tourism it’s a nascent industry, but so was craft beer 10 years ago.”

Benbow also underscored the importance of Humboldt County boosting marketing efforts.

“Humboldt cannabis was a brand long before Humboldt cannabis was legal and we need to push that message forward. We’re running on fumes right now,” she said. “There some amazing farmers throughout the county and they all have incredible stories to tell. That’s what the tourists want to buy, the history and the story of it.”

Laura Lasseter, director of operations for the Southern Humboldt Business and Visitors Bureau, said her main mission “has always been tourism marketing and destination development inclusive of the cannabis industry.”

“For us, integrating cannabis and tourism is nothing new but everchanging,” she said. “We have embraced the cannabis industry with open arms and do our best to help showcase what we can with our events, external marketing and networking to help advance the integration of cannabis and tourism through our partnerships in the hospitality and tourism industry. We’re making a concerted effort to work towards destigmatizing, normalizing  cannabis with education.”

Lasseter emphasized the need to preserve the cannabis culture, heritage and legacy craft farmers that made Humboldt County world-renowned.

In addition to being an economic driver, cannabis tourism also has the potential to build bridges between industries, DeLapp added.

“There is an incredible opportunity to partner between the cannabis trade associations, the various tourism organizations, chambers of commerce and pool resources together where we’re building each other up and not tearing each other down,” she said. “It’s time for us to put some of the past behind us and to openly acknowledge that cannabis is part of the future. If we all understand that and accept that as reality, then we can really come up with different plans and strategies for how we can work together.”

By Rebecca Olmos | TheCannifornian.com Correspondent

‘Tis the season of giving, and cannabis is a great gift to receive. A recent poll revealed that 9 out of 10 cannabis users in legal states plan to incorporate weed into their holiday festivities. But before you head over to your local dispensary to shop, here are some things to consider.

1. When in doubt, it’s the thought that counts

It can be daunting enough to buy cannabis for yourself with the plethora of items available on the menu. Just remember, everyone has unique cannabis preferences, and what is for you might not be for your loved one.

You can always check out some holiday cannabis gift guides before you go. Still, a general rule of thumb is: Prerolls are always a convenient gift, chocolate and gummies are dose-able and delicious, and wellness products like bath bombs and lotions are perfect stocking stuffers. Budtender recommendation are key if you’re not sure what to choose.

Cannabis accessories are also always a safe bet. In almost all stoner stash boxes, lighters, rolling papers, rolling trays, and grinders are necessary. Some dispensaries might even offer gift cards! 

2. Keep your gifts local

Travel is a big part of holiday culture, and it can be tempting to pack that canna-gift into your bag to take with you. If you’re driving within the confines of California and over the age of 21, you’re in the clear. Just don’t consume and drive. 

If you’re flying, it’s a different story. Cannabis remains a federally prohibited substance, and air space is technically federal territory. So it is illegal to bring your infused goods with you on a flight. TSA may not be intently looking for your stash – but If airport personnel find it, they will turn you over to authorities.

3. Don’t mail your weed gifts

It is extremely convienent to be able to ship your gifts to your loved ones out of state. But just make sure it’s not anything infused with weed.

It is prohibited to ship any cannabis-derived product through any mailing service because cannabis is still federally illegal. And if you do, there are risks and penalties, including prison. Hemp-derived products are okay, though, as long as they follow local, state, and compliance guidelines. If you’re going the hemp route, make sure you order from a trusted vendor.

Whatever or however you choose to gift cannabis, just make sure to give with good intention, don’t fly with it and don’t ship it anywhere. That way, you and your loved ones are safe to enjoy all the fun that comes with infusing the holidays with cannabis. 

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

Big cannabis companies are backing a new, celebrity-infused campaign to enlist marijuana users to pressure members of Congress to legalize pot nationwide.

Federal legalization has advanced somewhat but still faces strong headwinds on Capitol Hill. The “Cannabis in Common” initiative launched Tuesday aims to change that.

A website makes it easier for supporters to email or call their congressional representatives and push for making marijuana legal. State-licensed pot companies also plan to email their customers, put up posters in shops, add information to their apps and otherwise encourage consumers to get involved.

“Legalizing cannabis is long past due, and if we make enough noise, we can make it happen,” actor Seth Rogen, co-founder of a cannabis company and enthusiastic user of the drug, says in a kickoff video. Comedian Sarah Silverman voices another, animated promo.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational adult use of marijuana and a voter-approved measure in a 19th state, South Dakota, is undergoing a court challenge. More than two-thirds of states allow medical marijuana.

But pot remains illegal under federal law to possess, use or sell, so many banks shun money from the cannabis industry, fearing it could expose them to federal legal trouble.

That conflict has shut many legal growers and sellers out of everyday financial services like opening bank accounts or obtaining credit cards. It also has forced many businesses to operate only in cash, making them ripe targets for crime.

Pro-legalization groups have mounted state and federal campaigns for years, and advocates are split about “Cannabis in Common,” which isn’t focused on any particular piece of legislation. Organizers say it breaks ground by extensively involving major industry players and mobilizing their customers.

“We just feel there’s a larger, untapped group of individuals that we would love to see weigh in,” said Steve Hawkins, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry-led coalition organizing the campaign with HeadCount, a voter registration group. The council declined to disclose the cost.

While cannabis companies have done individual lobbying, this new effort “reaches across all the peccadilloes that every weed interest brings to the table” in hopes of getting past the patchwork of state legislation, said Jeremy Unruh, a senior vice president of PharmCann Inc., which has dispensaries in six states.

More than two dozen companies have signed on, including the vaping brand Pax and such publicly traded corporations as Canopy Growth, Curaleaf Holdings and Cronos Group.

The effort quickly drew criticism from a national anti-legalization group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana. CEO Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration official, called the campaign “an egregious example of profit over public health.”

Some nonprofit, pro-legalization groups are joining the “Cannabis in Common” initiative. But others are steering clear.

The Drug Policy Alliance sees the campaign as overly corporate and not dedicated enough to expunging past marijuana convictions and helping communities and people who have borne the brunt of pot arrests.

“For us, it’s not just about getting federal legalization over the finish line,” says Maritza Perez of the alliance, which convened the nonprofit-focused Marijuana Justice Coalition in 2018 to push for legalization coupled with other reforms. “We have a very specific constituency that we are fighting for, and that’s people who have been impacted by prohibition.”

NORML, one of the nation’s oldest legalization groups, is sitting out the new campaign and focusing on specific congressional proposals to make marijuana federally legal, political director Justin Strekal said.

A proposal to decriminalize and tax marijuana, expunge federal pot convictions and direct pot tax money to communities beleaguered by the “war on drugs” passed the House last year. The measure was reintroduced in this year’s new Congress and recently passed a key committee again.

President Joe Biden has said he supports decriminalizing marijuana and expunging past pot use convictions, but he hasn’t embraced federally legalizing the drug.

A Gallup poll released last week found 68% of Americans favor legalization, including 83% of Democrats, 71% of independents and 50% of Republicans. The survey of 823 adults had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Pointing to such polls, the new campaign casts legalization as an issue that crosses political divides and has new potential in the Democrat-led Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) in July became the chamber’s first leader to back legalizing marijuana, pledging to “make this a priority in the Senate,” where Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon have drafted legislation.

And legalization advocates hope to have a champion in Vice President Kamala Harris, who said before her election that making pot legal at the federal level is the “smart thing to do.” But legalization opponents note that it’s not clear that all Senate Democrats would vote for marijuana legalization, let alone find enough Republican supporters to avoid a filibuster. Congress is otherwise occupied with massive legislation on social services and climate change ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

By ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN | Times-Standard

Proposition 215 celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. Proposition 215, known as the Medical Marijuana Initiative or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, enabled cannabis to be a recommended medication by doctors to their patients and also allowed the plant to be grown and sold in California. Proposition 215 sparked a new era for cannabis and since California’s landmark legislation, 35 more states have adopted similar laws.

Prior to Proposition 215, possession or cultivation of marijuana for medical treatment was prohibited by the state and considered a criminal offense.

“The War on Drugs was upon us. Proposition 215 signaled an end to the police state and the oppression we were under,” said Sunshine Cereceda, founder of Sunboldt Grown in Southern Humboldt County. “The biggest change was we were protected, we were no longer oppressed, but it took us a while to feel comfortable and to put our plants just out under the full sun.”

Dennis Peron, one of the co-authors of Proposition 215, pursued the legalization of medical cannabis in San Francisco in the early 1990s because his partner was suffering from AIDS.

“I did Prop. 215 because my lover had AIDS,” Peron told the Times-Standard in 2016. “He ultimately died, but then I did Prop. 215 for all the people who couldn’t get treatment. We had people going to jail who had AIDS. People were intimidating cancer patients. I wanted them to be able to defend themselves, but it turns out I wrote 215 for a sick nation that was being swallowed up by prohibition, a nation that created fear toward anyone who would dare to talk about marijuana.”

Cara Cordoni, an anchor on the Cannabis Cooperative Economics Group, was a close friend to Peron before he died of lung cancer in 2018. She said Peron was tired of seeing people criminalized “for seeking a remedy for their suffering.”

“He was instrumental in the creation of a really big dispensary on Market Street that was sometimes called the ‘Five-Story Felony’ that not only provided cannabis to patients, but it was a place of social healing,” Cordoni said. “People who had AIDS were stigmatized and they were abandoned by their families, their communities, by society in general. The dispensary on Market Street was really a gathering place where people sat together and were company for each other.”

Peron often made the point that the movement wasn’t just about cannabis, “it was the love, the community, the connection, and the camaraderie that was part of the healing for people,” she said.

The passage of Proposition 215 was a gamechanger for cannabis, not only in California but across the United States.

“Prop. 215 enabled cannabis to be seen not as a drug, but as a plant medicine that had positive impacts,” Cordoni said. “It got more medical people involved in studying it and it really illuminated the history of cannabis. This is a plant that has been part of our cultures, our societies, our medicine cabinet for thousands of years.”

Cereceda said she had never really considered the medical benefits of cannabis before the passage of Proposition 215.

“It just really brought it to my knowledge the medical qualities of cannabis,” she said. “It became clear that medical was a pathway to end prohibition, of course, it never should have been prohibited in the first place.”

Mariellen Jurkovich, director of the Humboldt Patient Resource Center dispensaries, said she originally joined the organization to lend a hand with the business but became increasingly interested in the medical benefits of cannabis.

“I still believe that anytime you use cannabis, it’s medical,” she said. “Whether you’re using it when you get off work and you just want to come home and relax instead of maybe drinking alcohol or you’re using it for your for your health or you’re kind of shy and it helps your social anxiety, I find those all of those scenarios to be for our health.”

Jurkovich remembers Proposition 215 being promoted as a way to help people with chronic illness find comfort.

“They billed it as something that people were using for AIDS or for cancer,” she said. “The advertisements were like, ‘Your grandmother is using it because she has cancer, we should legalize it so that she can still use it.’ The War on Drugs, the ‘just say no’ campaign really made people look at cannabis like it was heroin. I think leading up to and the passage of Prop. 215 is when people began seeing it differently. Dennis Peron was instrumental.”

However, Cordoni said the legalization of recreational cannabis with the passage of Proposition 64 in 2016 changed the way the medical benefits of the plant were viewed.

“Before, it was based on compassion and based on well-being, which is unique even now as we look at legalization sweeping the country and the world,” she said. “I think Dennis Peron’s greatest resistance to Prop. 64 is that there was no compassion in it. There’s been no room for people to give medicine away, for patients to have access to low-cost or free cannabis. That that was his biggest fear and heartbreak of seeing the way that we were going about legalization when Prop. 215 had really worked so well.”

Peron argued that legalization, specifically with Proposition 64, was all about money and regulation.

“Money. It’s always money. It’s so cynical,” he told the Times-Standard. “They say they want to help us but they actually want to hurt us. For some reason, they feel like we have to pay taxes because we use marijuana, but if they increase the costs, they limit access to medication.”

Cordoni said the notion of medical versus recreational didn’t resonate with Peron.

“His point was if you’re taking it to alter your consciousness as in to get high, to feel happy to feel more spiritual — that’s all a medical application,” she said. “The loss of that perspective has been a detriment to our more medically challenged patients because now many dispensaries often are not focused on medical applications.”

Legalization has also left behind many small cannabis farmers, she added.

“Legalization has really not taken care of our legacy farmers and we’re one of the only states that really have a history of a legacy community of farmers,” she said. “Especially as we did it here, there was very little to protect them or grandfather them or help them make that transition. As a result, we’re seeing an extinction event of small mom-and-pop or legacy farmers That’s a huge cultural loss for all of us.”

Jurkovich agreed, adding that “We’re losing our story.”

“We used to know the makers of our product we used to bring them in here, we used to tell their story,” she said. “I can’t go to a farmer and say, ‘Hey! I love your stuff, I would love to get it.’ That’s not legal anymore. I have to go through a distributor. I think that’s what’s killing us. I don’t think we will be able to make it in Humboldt County because we don’t have a story anymore.”

Cordoni said she holds out hope that Humboldt County’s small farmers will be able to pull through in the long run.

“I’m working with Cooperation Humboldt on a cooperative cannabis economy group looking at creating a solidarity economy that includes our cannabis community, that doesn’t exploit the land or the people,” she said. “We haven’t given up. You know, Dennis failed many times before Prop. 215 passed. He held that as a message of persistence, of hope, and of doing it for the reasons of being a service to the community and to the plant. That’s the beautiful, lasting legacy that he leaves all of us.”

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer

The NBA has agreed to not randomly test players for marijuana this season, a continuation of the policy that was put in place last year for the COVID-19 “restart bubble” and has remained since.

Drug testing will continue for things such as human growth hormone and performance-enhancers, along with what the league calls “drugs of abuse” — such as methamphetamine, cocaine and opiates. But the league’s agreement with the National Basketball Players Association over random marijuana tests will continue for at least another season.

“We have agreed with the NBPA to extend the suspension of random testing for marijuana for the 2021-22 season and focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Wednesday.

The agreement was revealed to players in a memo from the union, the details of which were first reported by ESPN. The league suspended testing in March 2020 when play was suspended in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, then agreed with the players to test for performance-enhancers in the bubble at Walt Disney World that summer.

But marijuana wasn’t on that list, wasn’t tested for last season and now won’t be this season either.

Decriminalizing marijuana has been a major topic at the government level for years, as has been the case in the sports world as well. Earlier this year, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was left off the U.S. team’s Olympic roster following a positive test for marijuana, costing her a chance at running on the 4×100 relay team in Tokyo, in addition to her spot in the 100-meter individual race.

After Richardson’s suspension was announced, two members of Congress — U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., — wrote U.S. and global anti-doping leaders to say in part that “the ban on marijuana is a significant and unnecessary burden on athletes’ civil liberties.”

More than half of the states in the U.S. have decriminalized possessing small amounts of marijuana.