Author: Brandon Soderberg
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Virginia Bills Preventing Cannabis Smell As A Justification for Vehicle Search Go To Governor
Both Virginia’s House and Senate have passed bills that prevent law enforcement from using the smell of cannabis to search Virginians’ vehicles. House Bill 5058 and Senate Bill 5029 now go to Virginia governor Ralph Northam to sign. Cops continue to use the smell of cannabis—as well as false claims by police that they smell…
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Episode 08: Outdoor Grows, Racial Woes, and Congressional Nos
In the latest episode of The Outlaw Report podcast, host Scott Cecil talks to Outlaw Report writers Brandon Soderberg and for the first time, newcomer to the site Shabnam Danesh. The three discuss the latest developments (or lack thereof) pertaining to the MORE Act, Shabnam’s fascinating article about the environmental benefits to outdoor cannabis growing,…
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D.C. Loosens Medicinal Cannabis Delivery Restrictions As Covid-19 Concerns Continue
Back in April, Washington D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser and the Department of Health (DOH) announced that they would allow medicinal dispensaries in the District to deliver cannabis to patients for the first time. This was in response to Covid-19, in which it was imperative that in-person interaction was limited especially among the most vulnerable. Now,…
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Maryland Police Reform Workgroup Votes Loosen Cannabis-Use Restrictions For Cops
Maryland’s House Workgroup to Address Police Reform and Accountability, established after the police killing of George Floyd, voted on a number of measures last week including one that would not disqualify people who have used cannabis in the past from applying to be police officers. This was one of the 11 initial measures the workgroup…
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Quick Hit: West Virginia Approves Its First Ten Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries
While the agency in charge Washington D.C.’s medicinal cannabis program has changed, Maryland’s medicinal cannabis program continues to reckon with a lack of racial equity, and Virginia’s program is just getting started, nearby West Virginia has approved its first 10 medicinal cannabis cultivators: Armory Pharmaceutical of Maryland; Blue Ridge Botanicals of Texas; Buckhannon Grow of…
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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Finally Awards Grower and Processor Approvals
The much-anticipated Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission meeting where a number of growers and processors received Stage One pre-approvals for licenses went on for more than four hours. These licenses have been nearly two years in the making—the result of a 2018 law introduced to prioritize minority-owned businesses and begin to correct the fact that virtually…
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Hemp Smell Complaints in Baltimore County Inspire More Legislation
Community complaints about the smell emanating from hemp farms and unfounded claims that the odor is causing health problems for some in Baltimore County has again inspired legislation threatening Maryland’s “right-to-farm” laws. Last week, County Councilperson Wade Kach, a Republican representing Cockeysville, Maryland introduced Bill 94-20, preventing hemp farms from being more than 2,000 feet…
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Quick Hit: Meet Mia Mason, the Pro-Cannabis Candidate Going Up Against Andy Harris
Readers of The Outlaw Report know all about Congressman Andy Harrs, anti-cannabis politician to his core. Harris infamously is to blame for Washington D.C. legalizing cannabis but not being able to have a proper commercial cannabis industry and he is also something of a Covid truther and all-around drug reform spoiler sport as his attempts…
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Federal Court Of Special Appeals Rules in Favor Of Virginia Truck Driver With Weed In His Shoe
Earlier this month, The United States Court of Special Appeals Fourth Circuit in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a ruling in favor of a truck driver stopped for not having the proper permit and also charged with cannabis possession. The ruling came down on September 11, and explained why Jaison Feliciana, driving a bakery…
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Cannabis Commission’s Policy Committee Meeting; Maryland Dispensary Shake-Ups
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) Policy Committee meeting from last week went deep on the complicated ins and outs of testing that even members of the committee were still wrapping their heads around. Primarily, this was about the ongoing development of a technical authority for testing medicinal cannabis and all that it entails. “The…
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Quick Hit: West Virginia Democratic Candidates’ Normalization of Cannabis Act
At Democrat candidate for West Virginia’s House of Delegates Chris Yeager’s hemp farm in Mason County, West Virginia, fellow House candidate Rusty Williams introduced The Normalization of Cannabis Act and streamed it to Facebook. Williams called The Normalization of Cannabis Act “the first piece of comprehensive cannabis legislation that we intend to introduce should we…
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Unpacking Racially Disproportionate Cannabis Arrests in D.C. and Baltimore
Earlier this month, The Washington Post published “D.C. legalized marijuana, but one thing didn’t change: Almost everyone arrested on pot charges is Black,” a lengthy report that crunched cannabis arrest numbers in the District and spoke to some of those affected by those arrests, which are occurring after D.C. legalized cannabis, has a medicinal cannabis…