Category: Outlaw Report
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Police Call About Teens Smoking Cannabis Leads to Excessive Force Settlement
A police call that began with teenagers smoking cannabis in a convenience store ended with one of the teens’ grandparents being thrown to the ground by police resulting in a $45,000 settlement. The settlement was approved this week by Baltimore City’s Board of Estimates who detailed the May 7, 2016 incident in which 56 year-old…
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D.C. Cannabis Growers Say It’s High Time For A New Testing Lab
D.C.’s medical cannabis industry is poised for growth this year as local regulators open up a fresh round of licensing to entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on medicinal weed. Last month, D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) announced an open application period for the registration of two new cultivation centers, one dispensary, and two testing…
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In New York and Baltimore, Elected Officials Embroiled in Scandals Get Behind Drug Reform
New York has legalized cannabis for recreational use. It is a move that makes New York the fifteenth state to legalize and will contribute to undoing decades of racial disparities in cannabis arrests. The legalization law, passed by the Senate and signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Mar. 30, creates a regulated, commercial…
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Mexico’s Path To Cannabis Legalization, Explained
Last week’s episode of The Outlaw Report podcast was a conversation with Elias Lisbona Jassan, an attorney and drug policy reform advocate in Mexico City. He gave listeners a quick history of drug prohibition in Mexico and a deep dive into the current move towards legalization. Since that episode ran, it seems even more likely…
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MedMen’s PharmaCann Virginia Lawsuit Stalls Medical Cannabis in Staunton
Medical cannabis companies vying for a license in Staunton, Virginia, are in limbo, pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by PharmaCann Virginia, which is owned by California-based MedMen, a major player in the dispensary market. PharmaCann Virginia was originally a subsidiary of PharmaCann, Inc., in Illinois but was later transferred to MedMen. PharmaCann previously…
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Psychedelics Decriminalization Initiative Takes Effect in D.C.: Now What?
As Washington D.C. moves closer to launching a regulated commercial cannabis market, plant-based psychedelics are taking a major step toward legal accessibility. On March 15, Initiative 81, a local decriminalization measure that voters supported in 2020, officially took effect. It makes “non-commercial planting, cultivating, purchasing, transporting, distributing, engaging in practices with, and/or possessing entheogenic plants…
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Maryland Must Wait At Least Another Year For Legalization
Last week, on Mar. 18, cannabis legalization advocates showed up in Annapolis with a giant inflatable joint and a plain and simple message: Don’t allow the cannabis legalization bills proposed by the House and Senate to fail. The expiration date for both legalization bills—Senate Bill 708 and House Bill 32—was Mar. 22 and neither passed…
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Maryland Dispensary Robbery Illustrates Dangers of Cash-Only Cannabis
If you have been to a Maryland dispensary, you probably passed through at least three security checkpoints—a locked front door, a front desk check-in, and a locked door to the sales floor. Some dispensaries even hire full time security guards. This is because dispensaries are prone to robberies, not because of the cannabis—but the cash…
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Episodio Especial del Outlaw Report: Mexico Prepares to Legalize Cannabis
On this special episode of The Outlaw Report, host Scott Cecil is joined by Elias Lisbona Jassan, an attorney and drug policy reform advocate in Mexico City, to talk about efforts to legalize cannabis in Mexico by ending prohibition at the national level. We’ll be back April 6th with headlines and an all-new episode!
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Will Virginia Legalize Pot This Summer? All Eyes on Governor Northam
When Virginia legislators voted to legalize recreational adult cannabis use in February, one of the most debated aspects of the bill was its three-year delay of legalization. This postponement ties the end of prohibition to the launch of the legal market in 2024. Some advocates and representatives have pointed out that this strategy will perpetuate…
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Advocate Weighs in on D.C.’s Dueling Legalization Bills
Over the past few weeks, Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson have both introduced dueling bills allowing for a commercial regulated cannabis market in the District. The bills suggest the commercial cannabis industry that has eluded the District since 2014—when Initiative 71 passed but the Harris Rider prevented regulated adult use—could happen…
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Advocates Push For Cannabis Legalization in Annapolis With a 51-Foot Joint
A 51-foot long inflatable joint with the words “Maryland Pass The Joint!” and the logo of Maryland Marijuana Justice (MDMJ) stamped on the side of it appeared near Annapolis’ State House earlier today, Mar. 18, as part of a protest pushing the cannabis reform-averse legislators in Maryland towards passing a legalization bill. “Some legislators won’t…