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Dope lovers by the thousands followed the smell of ganja to the Inland Empire in February, where they gathered for the first of five events around the world sponsored by High Times. The first leg of the 27th annual Cannabis Cup, one of the biggest competitions in the marijuana world, was held Feb. 8-9 in San Bernardino. Competitions pitted cultivators ...

Marijuana fever may be sweeping the nation, but there’s one place it still hasn’t caught on, and probably won’t, at least not any time soon: the halls of law enforcement. There are police groups that back legalization – most notably LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition). But most mainstream police groups, especially the big, powerful ones, have made it their mission ...

If police are acting like this now, just imagine the tactics they’ll employ once California legalizes marijuana completely. Voters in the Golden State approved medical marijuana 18 years ago when they passed Proposition 215, but don’t tell that to most police officers. As far as they’re concerned, no such law has ever existed. That’s why the California Narcotics Officers’ Association, ...

What does 2014 hold for weed in the great state of California? As with all things political, it depends. At the outset, it looks to be a big year for marijuana reform in the Golden State. Four petitions are in the works to legalize recreational cannabis. On the other side of the coin, municipalities and federal prosecutors continue to crack ...

Sam Hurd, a former NFL wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison. Hurd’s troubles began in 2011 when he was arrested after buying cocaine from an undercover officer. Hurd reportedly told the officer he was part of a major drug ring that would be buying and distributing in large amounts in ...

An Orange County man who pleaded guilty to running illegal dispensaries in Southern California was sentenced to nearly 22 years in federal prison on July 21, plus more than $4 million in fines and restitution. San Clemente resident John Melvin “Pops” Walker, 56, ran at least nine dispensaries in Long Beach and Orange County. He was indicted last fall by ...

California Democrats: “Time to Legalize” California Democrats have plenty on their hands when it comes to marijuana. But that hasn’t stopped them from taking a stand on behalf of other states that are loosening the reins on pot law. The California Democratic Party passed a resolution in July expressing support for the full legalization of weed in Washington and Colorado. ...

Around the country, medical marijuana is booming and retail dispensaries are opening in increasing numbers. Medical pot shops are now allowed in Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico and 10 other states. The growing number of dispensaries across the United States offers badly needed access to patients. Many of them aren’t able to grow their own marijuana, as they were required to ...

The situation for California’s medical marijuana dispensaries and their patients continues to darken. Federal authorities and local officials are putting the squeeze on pot shops across the state, shutting them down by the hundreds and forcing thousands of patients to look elsewhere for their medicine. One alternative is booming in the vacuum left by these shuttered dispensaries. Small delivery providers ...

The City of Los Angeles released a list late last month of the 134 medical marijuana dispensaries that will be allowed to operate in the city. Each of these clinics registered with City Hall before a moratorium on new pot shops was imposed in 2007. L.A. tried to follow other California counties and ban dispensaries last year, but repealed that ...