October 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
The federal government is intensifying its efforts to smother California’s pot industry by targeting not only medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, but also those who do business with them. The latest possible targets: landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where...
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September 21, 2011, 4:17 PM
An operation by state narcotics agents that tracked a shipment of high-grade marijuana from Northern California led police to a suburban Kentucky house and two National Football League players, law enforcement authorities said. Cincinnati Bengals teammates Jerome Simpson and Anthony Collins,...
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September 3, 2011, 12:26 PM
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...
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July 25, 2011, 9:18 AM
Police outside California say more and more marijuana is drifting into their territory – as the Golden State’s burgeoning medical marijuana trade has pushed down prices here and prompted growers to seek more lucrative business across the country.
In a recent string of high-profile...
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Spotlight:
July 23, 2011, 2:29 PM
With more than a third of all states now experimenting with some form of legalization and decriminalization – and several California counties attempting to openly regulate pot production – FRONTLINE and the Center for Investigative Reporting team up to investigate the country's oldest,...
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July 5, 2011, 2:36 PM
Law enforcement agents in six northern counties are preparing for the largest series of marijuana raids ever conducted in this part of California. Operation Full Court Press will unleash hundreds of local, state and federal agents into the Mendocino National Forest later this summer. The...
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July 5, 2011, 12:05 AM
Wearing a black cocktail dress and maroon high heels, Jessica Ryan balanced a check-filled leatherbound guestbook in one hand and a mojito in the other. A secretary for one of the top medical marijuana lobbyists in Sacramento, Ryan flashed a smile as she greeted each of the roughly three dozen...
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July 1, 2011, 12:37 PM
A long-awaited Justice Department memo suggests the Obama administration supports renewed law enforcement action against some of California’s biggest medical marijuana operators. “Persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana, and those who...
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June 24, 2011, 12:05 AM
Early on a recent Saturday morning, two men wearing camouflage fatigues parked a pickup truck deep in the Mendocino County backwoods. They checked their gear. Industrial trash bags, weapons, water, food and first aid in place, they were ready to descend the hillside. A quick radio check-in to their...
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June 20, 2011, 2:33 PM
As soon as today, Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to release a letter clarifying the Justice Department’s policy toward the 16 states that have approved medical marijuana laws. Of particular importance to California is whether federal authorities will tolerate states...
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May 2, 2011, 12:05 AM
Growing pot is not as green as you might think. A new study suggests California grow rooms burn about 8 percent of the power used by homes in the state. A single joint represents 2 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, an amount equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours, according to...
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April 23, 2011, 3:57 PM
Trespassing marijuana growers are setting booby traps, resorting to violence and vandalism, and polluting private land as property owners and law enforcement try to fight back.
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January 7, 2011, 12:05 AM
Cash-strapped Oakland could lose millions of dollars in projected tax revenues if the city bows to pressure to scale back controversial plans to license four commercial medical marijuana farms. Supporters say the measure – approved by the city council last July – could provide...
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December 17, 2010, 12:05 AM
The City of Oakland is facing another possible legal hurdle in the race to license and tax commercial marijuana cultivation – the Alameda County district attorney. A Dec. 8 letter from Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to Mayor-elect Jean Quan, obtained by California...
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December 6, 2010, 12:05 AM
The Obama administration has warned Oakland over the licensing of four giant pot farms, saying the plan is in violation of state and federal law and could trigger multiple legal actions against the city. Officials from the Justice Department’s civil division and the U.S. attorney...
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