Central Valley

Cannabis, ecology and the California fires

CaliforniaThe year 2020's record-breaking wildfires in California and other Western states have compounded the grim impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—and have similarly been politicized. Thus far, the blow they have dealt to the burgeoning cannabis industry has been well weathered. But this will clearly pose a growing challenge in the years to come—as those parts of the country where legal cannabis cultivation is most advanced are also the most vulnerable to this devastating sign of ecological disequilibrium.

Cannabis 'appellations' coming to California: how will it work?

cannabisCalifornia is moving toward adopting official "appellations" for cannabis, certifying a strain's regional origin. The concept is inspired by the wine industry, where such a certification system has long been in place in several producer countries. Wine appellations, often a mark of prestige, provide a model for what is now to be applied to high-end cannabis.

Cannabis and California's water wars: will small growers be the losers?

CaliforniaSacramento is preparing to unleash the National Guard on small illegal growers in the Emerald Triangle just as it is pushing the "Twin Tunnels" project to facilitate water diversions to Central Valley ag-biz—which is increasingly growing cannabis. Small growers face punitive measures for irresponsible practices while big growers stand to gain from official water diversions that may be ultimately far more irresponsible.

Podcast: the dialectics of cannabis liberation

leafIn Episode 24 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes the historic strides toward liberation of the cannabis plant in 2018, from the fabled four corners of the Earth. Yet under capitalism, every advance also opens new contradictions.

Insurance critical as wildfires hit California cannabis industry

CaliforniaThe bureaucracy overseeing California's cannabis industry is moving fast to facilitate insurance coverage for businesses—a question very pressing as wildfires rage through the Emerald Triangle.

Ecological tolls of growing cannabis —both legal and illegal

cannabisA big multi-agency "reclamation" effort on national forest lands in the Emerald Triangle points again to the serious environmental impacts of outlaw cannabis cultivation. Will this be the last gasp of this sort of thing now that California has legalized?

Will Sessions memo mean death penalty for state-legal cannabis growers?

Shadow WatchAfter Jeff Sessions issued a memo urging prosecutors to seek the death penalty for those "dealing in extremely large quantities of drugs," even mainstream media outlets began raising the alarm that this could actually be used against large-scale legal cannabis cultivators in places like California. Is this threat is at all realistic?

Litigation challenges California cannabis regs

Posted on January 31st, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

CaliforniaSmall growers were dismayed when the regs overseeing the legal cannabis economy were released by California state authorities last year, placing no effective limits on acreage that can be used by a single grower. This led to fears that agribusiness could convert huge holdings in the Salinas and Central valleys to cannabis cultivation, and force the traditional small growers of the Emerald Triangle off the market. Now the California Growers Association is challenging the regs in the courts, demanding a one-acre cannabis grow cap.

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