DA: Massachusetts Mayor Demanded Bribes From Cannabis Industry Applicants

Any cannabis business owner will tell you that among the challenges in establishing and running a business are the numerous opportunities for learning intense patience and developing a buddha-like nature when dealing with city governments. Now, to their credit, cannabis is just as new to governments as it is to the

A Breathalyzer For Cannabis Is Coming

Both cannabis prohibitionists and supporters agree that operating a motor vehicle after consuming cannabis is not a good idea. The “effects of cannabis versus alcohol” argument aside—in which some researchers believe cannabis is safer than alcohol when driving—no one is in favor of intoxicated driving. But what tools are available to

Someone Is Robbing Washington Cannabis Growers

With all the expensive and visually intimidating security equipment and other measures that licensed cannabis producers are required install and maintain, you wouldn't think weed thefts would be a concern. Sun-grown and greenhouse crops are a different story, based on the tens of thousands of square feet they occupy. But indoor?

This Column Was Written by a Stoned Bot

[COLUMNIST’S NOTE: As a cannabis columnist, I receive endless press releases, emails, and marketing materials relating to new cannabis and hemp products, projects, events, conferences, and expos. I gathered 1,000 of these pieces, and forced a stoned bot to read them and then write the following press releases—because if there’s anything independent

The Cannabis Science Conference Is Returning To Portland

Are you into the science of cannabis? No, for real though—do you bore people to tears with your excited, long-winded ravings abut weed, using fancy 75-cent words? (I don't do that, okay?)  Are graphs, charts, and PowerPoint presentations about cannabis what makes you happy? Then it's time to go, get your

Women Executives In Cannabis Outpaces Other Industries

Where do women stand in the labor force, aside from underpaid? According to the US Department of Labor, "Of the 123 million women age 16 years and over in the U.S., 72 million, or 58.6 percent, were labor force participants—working or looking for work. Women comprised 47 percent of the total

Portland’s Cannabis Policy Oversight Team Wants YOU

Do you enjoy bitching and moaning about the things Portland gets wrong with cannabis policy? Ooooooh, me too! Grumbling about ganja and how the city deals with it is a fine way to pass some time, especially when done while burning down a fat one and holding forth with insights like,

Now That Hemp’s Legal, What About CBD?

Cannabis—and the devil’s cannabinoid, THC—are all the rage, but hemp and CBD have recently been gaining just as much national attention. The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill made hemp farming legal, which led many to assume that hemp, and the CBD that can be processed from it, would immediately be

FDA To Curaleaf: Enough Of The Unsubstantiated CBD Claims

By now, every gas station, bodega, salon, tire repair store, shoeshine stand, salsa dance studio, wig shop, and sex club for furries is selling CBD products, which as we all know will quickly and cheaply regrow hair, fix your flaccid penis, end insomnia, make you taller, and cure cancer while

Canadian Government Does Not Want “Fun” Used To Market Cannabis. Um, Okay.

Oregon has some issues with how we regulate our cannabis programs, with truly baffling and seemingly self-defeating rules and regulations. For example, those who grow and process cannabis are forbidden from sharing samples with legal-aged consumers, because, um... look, don’t worry about why, they just are, okay? Rules are rules! Even if

Canada Bets On Cultivation Of Colombian Cannabis

While Canada sorts out the inevitable challenges that arise when an entire country legalizes cannabis, it remains a money magnet for cannabis investors, who are throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at the Canuck kush scene. After initial hiccups, sales are like you after a seventh dab—really high, and getting higher.

California Still Battling Illegal Cannabis Growers

California is still making its way through the weeds (thanks, I'm here all week...) as far as its adult-use cannabis program goes, and the focus lately has been working for the clampdown on the illicit marketplace. A few recent activities give insight as to how that's going. Let's start with illicit

Fibromyalgia Pain Can Be Treated With Cannabis

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition as difficult to treat as it is to pronounce and spell. It affects some 10 million people in the US, yet treatments options are limited. That has nothing to do with the fact that 75 to 90 percent of those afflicted by FM are women, I'm

The VA Continues To Block Access to Cannabis for Veterans

Last week, Oregon Congressperson Earl Blumenauer was in the midst of, uh, congressing, which for him includes introducing, co-sponsoring, and supporting congressional legislation, often around cannabis issues. In this case, Blumenauer was pushing for an amendment that would have allowed doctors within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend cannabis

LGBTQIA+ And THC: Gay Pride And Cannabis

While Portland’s Pride celebrations have mostly wrapped up, Pride Month continues all the way through the end of June. It’s a month chosen to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969, but 50 years later, Pride Month has grown to draw attention to the many concerns facing LGBTQIA+ communities, including safety, housing