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 ...

Marijuana advocates have long been bullish on the prospect of legalization in California. They’ve failed, and failed again, but the general attitude is that this time is the charm. Comedian Adam Carolla begs to differ. Carolla, star of Loveline and the onetime Man Cave, says in an interview that voters won’t go along with cannabis reform in November, if only ...

It’s hard to forget the real estate crash of 2008, but that institutional memory may be fading in California as marijuana businesses drive up property values across the state. A report in the San Francisco Chronicle notes that property values are rising in many places thanks to new regulations governing the medical marijuana industry. The bubble is growing in small ...

Medical marijuana regulation is taking effect in California, and with it comes Lori Ajax, the state’s new “weed czar.” Ajax could soon become the deputy director of the new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation thanks to rules signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown late last year. Surprisingly, she is a Republican. Brown nominated Ajax for the job in February, ...

A federal judge handed an important victory to medical marijuana advocates in October. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer lifted a temporary injunction that blocked a Bay Area medical weed dispensary from selling pot to patients. The ruling means the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and its founder, Lynette Shaw, may resume their business. More importantly, the decision applied a ...

A museum will soon become the first in California to dedicate an entire exhibit to marijuana and the local issues that surround it. The Oakland Museum of California, an Oakland-based facility that focuses on California heritage, will open Altered State: Marijuana in California in April 2016, museum officials said. The exhibit will include items illuminating the drug, its use, and ...

Not everyone is ready for legalization. That includes America’s advertising industry, which has long been reluctant to help sell legal weed. But things may be changing, slowly. The Bay Area, for example, recently saw its very first medical marijuana billboard, posted above Interstate 580 in Oakland. Magnolia Wellness, a dispensary with outlets in Oakland and Sacramento, is behind the ad ...

And you thought the Sausage of the Month Club was a good deal. A California medical marijuana dispensary has one-upped the usual monthly gift program by offering door-to-door delivery of its selections for Weed of the Month. Marvina, a medical marijuana dispensary based in San Francisco, will not only provide pot but will make regular deliveries. That kind of service ...

A federal prosecutor whose district covers the Bay Area has quit her post, handing marijuana proponents a big victory. Melinda Haag served as the U.S. attorney for the San Francisco area, a position she used to launch aggressive legal attacks against dispensaries, growers, and other medical weed providers. Haag announced her resignation in late July; she will leave effective Sept. ...

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 ...