Marijuana - The Boston Globe

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. Cannabis consumers are weighing that advice against unprecedented stress and boredom — and past mistruths from officials about the drug.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

About two-thirds of people feel Mass. marijuana legalization was a success, according to new poll

across the country

Medical marijuana expansion nears final passage in Louisiana
Louisiana lawmakers are one step from removing most restrictions on which medical conditions are eligible for medical marijuana, allowing doctors to recommend the treatment for any patient they believe it would help.

Arkansas group stops collecting signatures for marijuana legalization

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

Pure Oasis in Grove Hall, which was just allowed to reopen a week ago because of coronavirus restrictions, was hit by looters who grabbed thousands of cannabis products.

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

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

More coronavirus coverage

Massachusetts medical marijuana registrations spike 245 percent

Massachusetts residents are signing up for medical marijuana cards in record-shattering numbers.

Getting a medical marijuana card is easier than you think

Marijuana banking access included in House leadership’s coronavirus relief bill

In the latest coronavirus relief package, House leadership included a provision to protect banks that service marijuana businesses.

Healey joins group of bipartisan attorneys general to tell Congress to pass marijuana banking as part of coronavirus bill

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

Is marijuana ‘essential’? Recreational firms tussle with Baker in court

Judge rules Baker had a legal right to close recreational marijuana storesMarijuana entrepreneurs stare down insolvencyBaker says reopening recreational pot shops amid outbreak is a ‘non-starter’

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.

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.

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

Oklahoma medical marijuana sales continue to smash records

Sales of medical marijuana in Oklahoma topped $73 million last month, the highest monthly total yet, the Oklahoma Tax Commission reported on Monday.

World

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.

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

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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

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.

Katherine Clark wants recreational pot shops open to serve veterans amid coronavirus outbreak
US Representative Katherine Clark expressed concern that military veterans could be particularly impacted by the governor's decision to keep recreational marijuana stores closed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Two employees of pot firm NETA test positive for coronavirus, making workers question protocol
A worker at NETA's cultivation and processing facility has tested positive for the COVID-19, and other employees say the firm is failing to protect them.

Baker says reopening recreational marijuana shops amid coronavirus outbreak is a ‘non-starter’
Despite pleas from leaders in the cannabis industry to reopen adult-use marijuana stores, Governor Charlie Baker defended his choice Tuesday to keep them closed, even while deeming medical dispensaries “essential" and allowing them to remain open.

Mass. marijuana regulator joins fight to allow recreational pot stores to reopen
A Massachusetts cannabis commissioner called on Governor Charlie Baker on Monday to allow recreational marijuana stores to reopen, deeming them as an essential business alongside medical dispensaries amid the spread of coronavirus.

Ordered to close and excluded from federal aid, marijuana entrepreneurs staring down insolvency
Marijuana entrepreneurs already faced an expensive obstacle course to open their businesses. Now, deemed “non-essential” by the state and excluded from federal aid and bankruptcy protections, they say they're facing an existential threat.

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.