Law Enforcement

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York Police Department announced on Tuesday that the city will begin ticketing, not arresting, people who are caught consuming cannabis in public, according to an NY1 report. This policy change comes just one month after the Mayor directed police to stop making the arrests. “No one should be […]

The Paris prosecutor’s office has tasked French narcotics investigators with checking out coffee shops selling low-THC, high-CBD cannabis products, according to The Local. The coffee shops selling the CBD-rich cannabis opened last week, taking advantage of a gray area that does not define restrictions on CBD. The primary target of the investigation is the shop […]

Robert Patterson, the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, has announced that he is retiring in two weeks, according to a Washington Post report.  Patterson, who has worked at the DEA for 30 years, announced his retirement to staff on Monday via email. He said his role as the temporary director had become more difficult and that […]

On Friday, Denver undercover police led a sting operation on the buses of two cannabis tourism companies, according to a Denverite report. Colorado Cannabis Tours and My 420 Tours both had buses raided. The police said they cited 31 people total during the sting. “We’re dealing with quite a shitstorm here.” — Cynthia Ord, marketing director for […]

District of Columbia police arrested 30 individuals Friday night at a cannabis pop-up event in Northeast Washington, according to a Washington Post report. Police seized several pounds of cannabis product from 28 different vendors, more than $10,000 in cash, and three firearms at the event. A police official said that the bust came about while officers were […]

Minneapolis police will stop the use of sting operations to bust low-level cannabis dealers after it surfaced that 46 of the 47 people arrested in this manner so far in 2018 were Black, the StarTribune reports. Authorities announced the changes last Thursday, also revealing that all charges against the 47 “dealers” would be dropped. The policy […]

On Wednesday, the Edmonton, Alberta city community and public services committee agreed to rules allowing the smoking of cannabis in outdoor public spaces like parks and sidewalks, the CBC reports. Cannabis smokers in outside spaces would conform to similar rules as tobacco smokers, remaining 10 meters away from doors and open windows and 30 meters away […]

Georgia couple Matthew and Suzeanna Brill have been charged with reckless conduct and have lost the custody rights to their 15-year-old son, David, for giving him cannabis as an alternative treatment for the youth’s epileptic seizures, according to a NY Times report. According to the Brills, once he started using medical cannabis, their son went seizure-free for 71 […]

A crackdown on unlicensed commercial cannabis locations in Los Angeles, California yesterday resulted in 160 arrests and 36 criminal cases against 142 people, according to a KTLA report. Los Angeles Police Department Officer Stacy Spell said, since January, the department has served 54 search warrants on illegal shops, seizing more than 6,200 pounds of cannabis […]

U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams has announced five priority areas of enforcing federal law in the state, including what his office sees as threats to public safety and interstate trafficking, the Argus Observer reports. Williams outlined his concerns about the state’s industry in a January op-ed in the Oregonian and those concerns are reflected […]

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has told the city’s top police officials to stop arresting people for smoking cannabis and, instead, issue citations, CNN reports. The directive comes about a week after the New York Times published an investigative report which found that black people were arrested for low-level cannabis charges at eight […]

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has given the Police Department 30 days to come up with a plan to end “unnecessary arrests” for cannabis, and city officials – including prosecutors – are working on broad plans to reform how to handle low-level cannabis crimes, the New York Times reports. However, the changes will […]

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has indicated he will vote in favor of the ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis in Utah, the Deseret News reports. The support comes as Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Medical Association strongly oppose the reforms. “This is not about recreational marijuana, that is not what I […]

The Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 against a bill to allow law enforcement officers to use a roadside saliva test to test drivers for cannabis impairment, the Burlington Free Press reports. Sen. Joe Benning, a Republican member of the committee and criminal defense attorney, said he opposed the measure because the test doesn’t prove […]

An Illinois House committee has advanced a measure that would allow individuals with a low-level cannabis or paraphernalia possession conviction to have the charge expunged, according to a WQAD report. The measure, sponsored by state Rep. La Shawn Ford, would add to 2016 reforms that decriminalized cannabis possession of less than 10 grams; allowing those […]

Fake cease-and-desist notices are being posted to some Michigan medical cannabis dispensaries that are legally operating under the state’s emergency rules. The fake notices come nearly a month after the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs sent more than 200 to shops that had not received temporary permits. The state stopped issuing cease-and-deists letter on […]

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania medical cannabis patient was jailed for 10 days last week after an Allegheny County judge ruled that the THC in his system was a violation of his bond, which prohibits criminal activity, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report. Samson L. Bailey was later released after his physician provided proof of his medical […]

With a surplus of cash and cannabis products always on hand, dispensary locations are prime targets for robbery. Washington state saw a number of cannabis shop break-ins in 2017 and the trend has continued in 2018, reinforcing concerns about having a cash-only industry and the lack of banking options for cannabis companies. On April 5, […]

At least 40 medical cannabis dispensaries throughout Michigan were ordered by state officials and the Michigan State Police to stop operating as the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs begins its crackdown on dispensaries that did not apply for a license by the Feb. 15 deadline, the Detroit Free Press reports. LARA spokesman David Harns […]

Psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston Michael Milburn has developed a mobile application that tests response time as a means to measure impairment which, he contends, would be a more accurate tool than either saliva tests or drug recognition experts to determine whether a driver is impaired by cannabis or other drugs. The […]

A measure introduced in Iowa’s Senate would reduce the penalties for possession of fewer than 5 grams of cannabis from six months in jail and a $1,000 fine to a maximum of 30 days in jail and a fine between $65 and $625. According to Democratic Rep. Mary Wolfe, in 2016 there were 3,400 cannabis […]

Washington’s last remaining medical cannabis exchange, the Patient Cannabis Exchange in Parkland, was raided by law enforcement on Sunday, KOMO News reports. Officers arrested individuals with outstanding warrants and seized plants and cash. Medical cannabis exchanges allow patients to designate a cultivator to grow their cannabis for them. Patients and cultivators at the exchange indicated […]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s District Attorney Larry Krasner dropped 51 cases for simple cannabis possession last week, part of his new policy to not prosecute such crimes, NBC Philadelphia reports. The prosecution reforms will not apply to possession charges with intent to deliver or sell cannabis. “We are going to tell them, yes, drop any cases that […]

Kern County, California — somewhere along Highway 5 The driver belonged to a collective and was transporting about $2 million of unprocessed product, from Northern California to Los Angeles. He had with him various documents, including a bill of lading and authorization from the collective to transport. The collective had corporate counsel and had established […]