Tag: California

Marijuana businesses in California and on the East Coast are evading worker-friendly licensing requirements by obtaining state business permits after signing deals with “labor organizations” that appear to be illegitimate “company unions,” documents and interviews show. The growing presence of these fake unions jeopardizes the inroads made by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, critics charge, while offering limited or zero benefits to workers. In many states with adult-use legalization, state law requires… Read more.

Both noted for their cannabis advocacy, rapper Rick Ross and entrepreneur Ben Cohen have announced new cannabis ventures and brands. Rick Ross Rick Ross is teaming up with High Tolerance Los Angeles on the launch of the Collins Ave strain, named for the popular strip in Miami Beach. Raised in Florida, Ross' debut album in 2006 was titled Port of Miami. "High Tolerance is the best flower for all the ones who like to blow that good gas," he tells TMZ. "This is… Read more.

A few days before Christmas, a joint law enforcement task force found nearly 9,000 pounds of cannabis worth almost $15 million during a raid in a suburban neighborhood in Antioch, Calif. The California Department of Cannabis Control believes that the four houses searched in the bedroom community 45 minutes outside San Francisco were linked to China. Mexican cartels have a long history of importing, growing and redistributing illicit cannabis in the United States. But Chinese investors, owners and workers have emerged in… Read more.

Police in Pomona, California, are investigating a business where they found 1,500 pounds of unlicensed marijuana products as well as electronic casino gaming consoles. The business also had an area dedicated to selling cannabis, The LeafDesk reported. According to the media outlet, police estimated the value of the cannabis products, which included flower, edibles and hashish oil, at $1.3 million. However, government agencies often inflate such estimates. The investigation comes on the heels of a recent report by California regulators about the… Read more.

The stoniest moment at the recent Oscars occurred when host Jimmy Kimmel teased Seth Rogen, who was sitting in the audience with his wife Lauren Miller, right behind director Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw. "Seth, what are you on now? Be honest" Rogen shrugged. "Nothing? Mushrooms, right? Did you give one to Steven? Give him one. Let's see what happens. Maybe he'll make something crazy." Kimmel then zeroed in on Spielberg, who claims to have never smoked pot. "I find hard… Read more.

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) On Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors discussed whether to legalize cannabis lounges throughout unincorporated Monterey County. The Board of Supervisors received a presentation from Monterey County Cannabis Program Director Joann Iwamoto who presented the pros and cons of bringing cannabis lounges to Monterey County. Majority of the supervisors are in support of bringing lounges to Monterey County. However, some were concerned about staffing capacity on the county level to regulate more cannabis related business ventures.… Read more.

One enormous facility on the northern edge of metro Los Angeles reveals expectations of marijuana becoming legal nationally CAMARILLO, Calif. — This is what the long game of California weed looks like. Rising two stories from razor-straight rows of parsley, artichokes and strawberries, the greenhouse complex hums with solar-powered efficiency, its vast airy interiors redolent with the sticky plant that fills much of it. Cannabis. The flatlands here stretching between mountains and sea have attracted farmers for generations, just around… Read more.

Dr. Greenthumb’s Worldwide — the cannabis company founded by B Real of the hip-hop group Cypress Hill — and its Los Angeles-based dispensary partner LAHC Inc. have mutually decided to part ways. Dr. Greenthumb’s Worldwide, founded by legendary hip-hop artist B Real of Cypress Hill, and LAHC Inc., a multi-year partner at Dr. Greenthumb’s dTLA dispensary location, have mutually decided to part ways, according to a recent press release. The shift is due to the quickly changing landscape of California’s… Read more.

California cannabis regulators have launched a $20 million grant program aimed at expanding consumer access to licensed cannabis products. The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) last week launched a $20 million grant program to expand consumer access to regulated cannabis, which the agency is calling “a national first-of-its-kind.” The grant will prioritize areas where national surveys find high cannabis consumption but have little to no access to cannabis retailers, the DCC said in a press release. The program “seeks to incentivize… Read more.

Using marijuana every day can raise a person’s risk of coronary artery disease, or CAD, by a third compared with those who never partake, a new study found. “A growing body of evidence suggests that cannabis is not entirely without harm and may actually cause cardiovascular disease,” said lead study author Dr. Ishan Paranjpe, a resident physician at Stanford University. The study — which has not yet been published -— will be presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the… Read more.