Alameda County

The 2016 Cannabis Business Summit and Expo is expected to draw thousands of entrepreneurs, speakers, and vendors to Oakland in June. The Expo will run from June 20 to 22 at the Oakland Marriott City Center. It’s part networking event, part classroom, and part sales floor, billed as the “ONLY national event where you will have an opportunity to meet ...

They call it the “California Way,” and they want to hold onto it. A group that supports small-scale marijuana farming is out with a series of billboards, bus ads, and YouTube videos promoting the mom-and-pop approach to the cannabis industry. “Craft farmers,” the spots say. “Small batch. Sustainable. The California Way.” This approach has indeed dominated marijuana cultivation in the ...

A California company could be the first to develop a breathalyzer device that measures marijuana intoxication in motorists. Hound Labs Inc., based in Oakland, is working with researchers at the University of California, Berkley to design a workable breathalyzer that could measure THC levels. Hound Labs isn’t the only company racing to produce such a device, but they say they ...

California stoners in need of quick weed have a new tool at their fingertips: a smartphone app that lets you order medical marijuana delivery in the Los Angeles area. “We’re entrepreneurs, and we saw a need in the market, and we decided to fill that need,” said Roddy Rodnia, co-founder of the Nestdrop app. “We want to make it more ...

California is the nation’s pot basket: More weed is grown here than in any other state – a lot more. About half the nation’s supply of marijuana originates in California. Cannabis is also quasi-legal in the Golden State, which has a medical marijuana system with few regulations. It’s easy to get a doctor’s recommendation, and it’s even easier to find ...

Border patrol officers discovered more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a shipment of Christmas package bows, officials said. On the afternoon of Aug. 28, a 28-year-old Mexican national tried to drive a 1998 Kenworth tractor across the border at Tijuana, officials said. The tractor pulled a trailer full of boxes masked as holiday bows. The tractor and trailer ...

Weed will now be free in Berkeley. For some people, anyway. The Berkeley City Council voted unanimously in early September to require that the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries set aside 2 percent of their product for people who can’t afford it. The council cast an initial vote on the cannabis plan in July. It’s a novel idea: Make sure everyone ...

While the rest of California continues to adopt tight restrictions or bans on medical marijuana, the City of Berkeley is headed in the opposite direction. The Berkeley City Council voted July 1 to require that medical weed dispensaries provide free pot to low-income patients. Under the new policy, dispensaries will be required to dedicate at least 2 percent of their ...

Police raided a suspected marijuana network in Fremont, Union City, and Hayward in June. They arrested four people and seized hundreds of plants, cash, and other drugs, authorities said. The investigation lasted almost a month, and police confiscated nearly 700 plants, processed weed, cocaine, cash, and a car, according to the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force. The operation ...

While many other California cities limit or outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries, Berkeley is allowing an expansion. The city will license a new dispensary by 2015, bringing the total number of legitimate pot shops in Berkeley to four. The city council voted to allow the new shop at a meeting June 17. That vote was preliminary, and the council will vote ...