MORE ON: Republic of Cannabis

For years, legalization advocates have argued that marijuana is America’s leading cash crop, outranking corn, wheat, soy and a host of other heartland staples produced on an industrial scale. Bringing pot production above ground, the argument goes, could produce a $30 billion tax bonanza... + read more

A war of words has erupted between state drug officials and a Kentucky prosecutor over the investigation of an NFL player who last year received two pounds of marijuana shipped to his home from Northern California. Officials in the two states are at odds over the amount of marijuana that was... + read more

This week, officials in Mendocino County, Northern California, are expected to pull the plug on an unusual program that put pot growing under supervision of the local sheriff. It was the first effort of its kind in the nation and proved a success, at least in the eyes of many locals. But, as... + read more

Mendocino County’s ambitious effort to regulate marijuana production – the first of its kind in California and the nation – is facing growing uncertainty following new threats of legal action by federal prosecutors. The controversial program, which began two years ago,... + read more

Lawmakers soon may enlist the nation's spymaster to help fight Mexican drug traffickers and others who use federal land in California and elsewhere to grow marijuana. A provision of the 2012 intelligence authorization bill calls on the director of national intelligence to assess and report... + read more

Federal prosecutors are preparing to target newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries in California, another escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry. This month, U.S.... + read more

As residents around Fort Bragg confront the loss of two community leaders, the Mendocino County SWAT Team and supporting law enforcement units continue the manhunt for the shooting suspect. Aaron Bassler, 35, is wanted in connection with the Aug. 26 killing of city Councilman and former Fort... + read more