Marijuana - The Boston Globe

Black-owned Boston marijuana store looted in what owners call a targeted attack amid protests

Rapper who owns looted Calif. marijuana dispensary says justice is more important than business

Black-owned Boston marijuana store looted

Pure Oasis, the first Black-run marijuana store to open in Mass., was looted Monday morning in what its owners are calling a “targeted attack”.

Judge rules for Springfield pot shop in permit dispute with city
A Superior Court judge has ruled that the city of Springfield must allow a recreational marijuana shop at the site of a now-closed burger bar.

Israeli scientists dig up cannabis traces in ancient temple

Israeli archaeologists say they’ve found cannabis residue on artifacts from an ancient temple in southern Israel — providing the first evidence of the use of hallucinogenics in the ancient Jewish religion.

Hasan Minhaj interviews Boston marijuana dispensary owners on Netflix series ‘Patriot Act’

The latest episode looks at the marijuana industry and legalization efforts across the nation. Among those featured are Kevin Hart and Kobie Evans, co-owners of Pure Oasis, Boston’s first recreational marijuana store.

Nevada elections office reviewing MedMen donation allegations

The Nevada secretary of state’s office is reviewing allegations made by a former executive of the cannabis company MedMen Enterprises Inc. that the company’s cofounders made illegal campaign donations to Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak.

States with medical marijuana laws saw 20 percent drop in some opioid prescriptions

Authors said the findings underscore the importance of providing patients with pain management alternatives, such as cannabis, in efforts to reduce opioid use.

City agency aimed at bringing transparency to marijuana decisions is poised to begin work

Boston's newest city agency, the Cannabis Board, will finally convene in June. But marijuana entrepreneurs say delays in implementing the city's new pot business approval process have been costly.

Supreme Court declines case on marijuana decriminalization measures blocked from local ballots

across the country

Navajo police warn against illegal marijuana, hemp farms
Authorities on the largest Native American reservation in the United States are warning people against illegally growing marijuana and hemp.

Oklahoma medical marijuana sales continue to smash records

East Boston pot shop receives final license as city councilors discuss path forward for marijuana equity in Boston

An East Boston recreational marijuana dispensary could become the city’s second pot shop after receiving its final license from the Cannabis Control Commission on Thursday.

Children in the car? No curbside marijuana for you

Marijuana regulators say minors can't be in the car during a curbside transaction.

Meet the Vermont marijuana legalization advocate running for the office of ‘high bailiff’
The irony is not lost on Dave Silberman. The Vermont-based drug policy advocate and lawyer who has been working for years to reform the state’s marijuana laws is running for the office of … high bailiff.

White House is reviewing CBD and marijuana research guidance from FDA

The Food and Drug Administration submitted draft guidance on the issue last week to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Congressional bill would require legal marijuana states to consider impaired driving policies

A scientist is calling on Congress to urge administrative action to more rapidly expand studies into the therapeutic potential of cannabis.

Recreational marijuana sales resume

Buzz kill: Mass. pot shops reopen, but some fear another shutdown
Some worry that Massachusetts officials could simply shutter pot shops again if there's a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Mass. recreational marijuana shops scramble for Memorial Day reopening

Here’s what curbside pot sales look like at Boston-area dispensaries
In the Boston area, busy streets and limited parking have forced companies to find unique solutions to "curbside pickup."

Payment and ID-check rules detailed for Mass. pot sales during coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus pandemic

Many look to marijuana to cope with coronavirus anxiety. That concerns health officials

Doctors warn marijuana smoking could worsen the risk of severe COVID-19 complications.

Healey joins group urging Congress to pass marijuana banking as part of coronavirus bill

The relief bill includes a provision to protect banks that serve marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.

Quarantined Americans embrace marijuana, reshaping an industry

Marijuana dispensaries want provisions put in place during coronavirus pandemic to stay

Staying safe while delivering marijuana in the pandemic

Mass. lawmakers urge VA to allow physicians to ‘verbally’ recommend medical marijuana amid coronavirus

Cash dwindles for marijuana companies, ‘extinction-level event’ looms amid coronavirus outbreak

boston's first pot shop

Boston’s first recreational marijuana store opens, more than 3 years after legalization

The grand opening of Pure Oasis in Dorchester marked a milestone in Massachusetts’ pioneering effort to use some of legalization’s windfall to rectify racial and social inequities.

Here's what you need to know if you plan to shop at Boston's first pot shop

Pure Oasis recommends that customers use public transportation if they can. There is limited street parking and a municipal parking lot nearby.

Boston pot shop co-owners say it's 'surreal' to finally be opening

The team at Pure Oasis in Dorchester’s Grove Hall community will welcome their first customers at 11 a.m. on Monday.

Key moments in Massachusetts marijuana history

From the 2016 ballot initiative to today, these milestones shaped the legal marijuana market in Massachusetts.

From police stops to marijuana executives: The long journey for owners of Boston’s first pot shop

Pure Oasis is Massachusetts’ first pot shop owned by people from communities targeted most by marijuana arrests.

Are recreational marijuana shops preparing to open in your town?
These maps show where prospective operators hope to set up shop to sell recreational marijuana, as well as the stores that have already opened.

‘My life came crashing down overnight’: How one Boston-area woman nearly died from vaping

A 33-year-old veterinary technician thought she could trust her dealer’s legitimate-looking vapes to help her relax and treat her migraines. Instead, she ended up hospitalized for two weeks.

FROM GLOBE OPINION: I nearly died from vaping, and you could tooFourth person dies in Massachusetts from vapingVaping kills 15-year-old in Texas, youngest vaping death reported yet

New England

The next Mass. marijuana commissioner is not allowed to be a registered Democrat

There’s an open seat on the Cannabis Control Commission for someone who has experience in a regulated industry, but the 1.5 million registered Democrats in the state shouldn’t bother applying.

Here’s what curbside recreational marijuana sales will look like at Boston-area pot shops

Recreational marijuana shops across Massachusetts will reopen Monday for curbside pickup after a two-month closure because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Payment and ID-check rules detailed for Mass. pot sales during coronavirus pandemic

Marijuana retailers will be able to take orders online and over the phone when they begin to reopen Monday and will fulfill those orders in their parking lots or just outside the main entrance, the Cannabis Control Commission said Wednesday.

Feds withdraw mental health grants for schools that allow medical marijuana, Maine official says

Maine’s Education Department announced this month that it is no longer eligible for certain federal funds to support mental health programs in schools because the state allows students to access medical marijuana.

Maine scuttles residency requirement for pot businesses

Maine’s state marijuana office is not going to enforce a residency requirement for business operators looking for recreational cannabis business licenses.

This Week in Weed

The latest from the CCC: Mass. marijuana regulators move forward with recreational delivery licenses

The commission voted Thursday to move forward with recreational delivery licenses. Applications will be made available on May 28.

Nation

North Carolina 2019 farm bill finally OK’d, omits hemp controversy

North Carolina legislators have finally completed the General Assembly’s annual agriculture policy bill that was first debated in 2019.

World

Mexico seizes 2 tons of meth, 8 tons of marijuana, fentanyl

Mexican soldiers have seized a huge drug stash at a house in the border city of Tijuana, including about two tons of methamphetamine, eight tons of marijuana, and 131,500 pills containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The essential guide to buying and consuming pot in Massachusetts

These are the most common questions marijuana budtenders get asked

Your guide to shopping at Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana stores

The hidden titans of pot

Massachusetts legalized the sale of recreational marijuana with the ambition to be different — and better. But two years since the law went into effect, troubling signs loom. This three-part series uncovers stealth moves by large investors poised to dominate this nascent industry and outmaneuver regulators.

These companies test the limits — and brag about it

No firm is allowed to own or control more than three recreational marijuana stores. But two companies — Sea Hunter and Acreage — are testing the limits.

Inside one battle that could change the marijuana industry

The race to open Mattapan Square’s first pot shop raises questions about trust and who gets to cash in.

For sale in the pot industry: political influence

Marijuana may be the hot, new retail business in town, but it largely plays by the old political rules.

More coverage

Eight takeaways from the Spotlight series on the state’s burgeoning marijuana industry

Marijuana company’s expansion plans test Mass. law

Massachusetts marijuana regulators investigating whether companies violated license limits

Beyond Massachusetts, states struggle to limit marijuana behemoths

recently launched

Subscribe to The Daily Rip

The Daily Rip, written Monday through Friday, dives into the top marijuana headlines of the day, in New England and around the world.

Special Report

Welcome to Big Marijuana’s factory floor

Inside the headquarters of Canada's Canopy Growth Corp., the world’s largest marijuana company that critics call the "Walmart of Weed." (Video by Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff)

Inside the Walmart of Weed: From rural Canada, Big Marijuana seeks to dominate global market

Latest local headlines

The next Mass. marijuana commissioner is not allowed to be a registered Democrat
There’s an open seat on the Cannabis Control Commission for someone who has experience in a regulated industry, but the 1.5 million registered Democrats in the state shouldn’t bother applying.

Top Vermont lawmaker says legal marijuana sales bill will be taken up after coronavirus response
A top lawmaker in Vermont says the Legislature will reconsider a bill to legalize marijuana sales later this year, though she feels lawmakers and the administration are appropriately focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic for now.

The latest from the CCC: Mass. marijuana regulators move forward with recreational delivery licenses
The commission voted Thursday to move forward with recreational delivery licenses. Applications will be made available on May 28.

Cannabis commission ready to reopen recreational marijuana stores — if Baker allows it
The state's top marijuana officials said Thursday they believe they can safely manage retail pot sales through measures like curbside pickup and appointment shopping.

Massachusetts chambers of commerce, marijuana firms plead for state aid
A bill under consideration on Beacon Hill would bail out organizations that are ineligible for federal relief, but its sponsor suggested the price tag will be much lower if recreational pot shops are allowed to reopen.

Team behind Drizly, an alcohol-delivery service, launches site to help get marijuana to customers
Like Drizly, Lantern is a liaison between customers and dispensaries. Lantern doesn’t touch the marijuana products, much like Drizly never touches the alcohol.

Massachusetts lawmakers will debate bill to provide marijuana businesses with coronavirus relief funds
Massachusetts lawmakers will hold a virtual hearing Tuesday to discuss a proposal to establish a state-level coronavirus relief program that would extend benefits to the marijuana industry and other businesses that are currently excluded from receiving federal COVID-19 funds.

Local chef appears on Netflix’s new ‘Cooked With Cannabis’
Patrick Mulcahy appears in the fifth episode, called "High Holidays."

Massachusetts medical marijuana registrations spike 245 percent
Residents of the only state to deem recreational cannabis shops "nonessential" are signing up for medical marijuana cards in record-shattering numbers.

Judge rules Baker had legal right to close recreational marijuana stores
However, Judge Kenneth Salinger said he's convinced the state could make recreational pot sales safe.

Mass. lawmakers urge VA to allow physicians to ‘verbally’ recommend medical marijuana amid coronavirus
Seven members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are urging the head of the US Department of Veterans Affairs to allow VA physicians to verbally recommend medical marijuana to military veterans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bill Weld speaks out against Charlie Baker’s shutdown of recreational marijuana shops
Governor Charlie Baker’s decision to shut down recreational marijuana shops during the coronavirus outbreak has drawn protests and a lawsuit from the cannabis industry. And now former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has joined the critics.

Is marijuana ‘essential’? Recreational firms tussle with Baker in court
A ruling expected Wednesday or Thursday could reopen — or doom — Massachusetts pot shops.

Mass. marijuana commissioner to step down in May
Massachusetts marijuana commissioner Kay Doyle will step down from her position in May to return to the private sector, the Cannabis Control Commission announced Monday.

Coronavirus concerns delay recreational marijuana sales in Maine
Maine officials decided Friday to delay the rollout of legalized marijuana in the state due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

Mass. cannabis commission approves supply chain changes
With recreational marijuana shops closed until at least May and the number of people seeking medical marijuana cards surging, the Cannabis Control Commission on Tuesday told certain adult-use growers that they can now transfer their crops to the medical supply chain.

Recreational marijuana companies sue Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker over shutdown
The lawsuit came even as the Cannabis Control Commission moved to allow some recreational suppliers to sell to medical dispensaries.

Former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia’s corruption trial delayed
The trial of former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia II, who is facing federal investment fraud and extortion charges, has been delayed several months.

Medical marijuana registrations spike as adult-use stores close in Mass.
The global coronavirus pandemic has upended significant swaths of the economy in Massachusetts, and the relatively-young legal marijuana industry is no exception.

Marijuana companies are making hand sanitizer to donate to local hospitals
With recreational marijuana sales currently on hiatus in Massachusetts, local dispensaries are focusing on a new product instead: hand sanitizer.

Are recreational marijuana shops preparing to open in your town? Check our maps

Data released by the Cannabis Control Commission show where marijuana operators have set up shop and where they hope to.

All 2020 presidential candidates now support marijuana legalization efforts — even the Republicans

Bill Clinton “didn’t inhale” marijuana, and it was Obama’s “mistake,” but now all 12 official Democratic candidates told the Globe they support full nationwide legalization, Canada-style.