When your grandparents or neighbors in Central Oregon get riled up about a skunk smell in the air, it almost certainly isn’t the wacky tobacky variety. It may simply be hemp—also a member of the cannabis family, but a crop that doesn’t contain the mind-altering THC of marijuana. That’s because Deschutes is a boom county […]
Smoke Signals
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The Fuss with Phylos
The company started as a testing lab and a cannabis database. When they announced they’d start doing plant breeding, the industry erupted with anger. Josh Jardine sits down with Phylos’ CEO
to hear his side
Since April, the cannabis world has been reeling in response to news from Phylos Bioscience, about whose innovative “Galaxy” I have written in the past. The Galaxy is aimed at being “the world’s largest database of hemp and cannabis genetic insights featuring thousands of heritage and modern varieties from over 80 countries,” according to Phylos’ […]
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Las Vegas is Opening Cannabis Consumption Lounges
Las Vegas has always had a lot to offer, and now Sin City also has the welcome recent addition of access to legal recreational cannabis. But, just like Oregon, there aren’t many legal options for consumption of cannabis after it’s been acquired. Homeowners may consume in their abode, but with Vegas hosting more than 40 […]
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Is the county applying a morality test to land-use decisions?
While analyzing Mckenzie Canyon Farms’ site plan for a proposed marijuana production and processing facility in northern Deschutes County on May 1, Commissioner Patti Adair’s face reflected great concern. The specific discussion was with regard to noise created by the (county-mandated) 16 odor control fans constructed at the site. “Which way is the wind blowing […]
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Know Your Grower: Nelson and Company Organics
This past year has seen a steady increase in my use of concentrates. The formats in which they are now available, and the brands which produce them, have exploded. The price has also dropped, as Oregon’s cannabis oversupply issue has resulted in increasing amounts of excess flower being processed into all forms of concentrates and […]
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Fear and Loathing of the Marijuana Business is Unjustified
On this joyous and holiest of 420 holidays (well, it’s April 20 as I type this), it’s incumbent on those who believe prohibition to be a mistake to prove to our neighbors that they have little to fear from the growth of the cannabis industry. Anecdotally, police officers will often tell you that dealing with […]
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Kosher Kush and Halal Hashism
Religion and cannabis
I recently spoke with a practicing Muslim friend who eschews all cannabis and alcohol. He asked about CBD, and the potential value it might have in addressing a condition with which he deals. He could treat it with pharmaceuticals, but wants to avoid their side effects and find something more in keeping with the other organic […]
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Don’t forget That Being Anti-Cannabis Pays, Too
For some attorneys in Deschutes County and elsewhere, land-use applications and appeals are an opportunity to fill their calendar with billable hours. In the case of marijuana land-use applications, if a party opposing such a grow has deep enough pockets and vested appeal rights, the lawyer for an appellant may take a “kitchen sink” approach […]
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Dangers of Reefer Madness, Outside Legal States
Regulated cannabis programs have created jobs, increased tax revenue, positively impacted the opioid crisis, and through expungement programs, ever so slightly reduced the impact the War on Drugs has taken upon communities—primarily communities of color. It’s not perfect, but it’s doing more good than harm, and is a huge step up from nationwide prohibition. Yet, […]
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About Those Benjamins
SAFE Banking Act could help decrease crime
As a one-time partner at a law firm representing cannabis and hemp entrepreneurs, I faced many of the same challenges as my clients. In other law firms, you bill a client monthly, draw from that client’s trust account to cover your expenses and send an invoice to your client. Not so when you’re representing weed […]