Law Enforcement

The Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce in California says it seized nearly 190,000 pounds of illicit cannabis during its first calendar year of operation, valued at nearly $312 million.

The police chief for Montgomery County, Maryland said a state rule that bans police recruits from having used cannabis for at least three years before applying is bad for the state’s law enforcement recruitment opportunities.

An Oakland police officer was recently killed while responding to a burglary at a cannabis business, highlighting how federal inaction on cannabis policy has put workers, the general public, and law enforcement in greater danger.

Activists in Texas are suing the city of Harker Heights for failing to reform its local cannabis laws after voters approved decriminalization changes in 2022.

After Georgia made it legal for pharmacies to dispense low-THC cannabis oils in October, the Drug Enforcement Administration has apparently sent warning letters to several pharmacies in the state.

New York cannabis regulators seized 812 pounds of flower, 701 pounds of edibles, and 61 pounds of concentrates during its November inspections of 71 shops suspected of conducting unregulated cannabis sales.

A recent raid on several unregulated dispensaries and smoke shops in San Diego, some of which were operating within 1,000 feet of schools, yielded a large volume of illicit narcotics including 60,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills, as well as cocaine, meth, and ecstasy.

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management has stopped the administrative trial process for businesses accused of retailing cannabis without a license.

City officials in Detroit, Michigan have closed the building that formerly housed the psychedelic religious institution Soul Tribes International Ministries, which offered psilocybin mushrooms as a sacrament.

FBI data suggests that U.S. law enforcement officers made at least 227,108 arrests for cannabis violations in 2022, up from 219,489 cannabis arrests the previous year.

The public safety director for Jersey City, New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit against the state for allowing police officers to consume cannabis while off duty.

The former head of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Board was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for accepting bribes while leading the cannabis regulatory body.

Detroit’s first “psychedelic church” — which is operated by Soul Tribes and offers psilocybin mushrooms as a holy sacrament — was raided last week by the Detroit Police.

A recent crackdown in Kay County, Oklahoma saw authorities confiscate 4,800 pounds of cannabis and ultimately shutter five licensed medical cannabis businesses.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said that over the last two years, officials have shut down more than 800 unlawful cannabis farms operating under the guise of the state’s medical cannabis law.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) has rejected a proposal that would have reduced the amount of time that law enforcement recruits could have used cannabis before entering training from 24 months to 12 months.

California’s United Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce last month eradicated more than 67,000 illegally cultivated cannabis plants and seized more than 8,000 pounds of cannabis products as part of its crackdown on the illicit cannabis market.

The New Mexico Attorney General’s office is investigating allegations of wage theft and human or labor trafficking at a licensed cannabis facility.

New York regulators have seized nearly $11 million worth of product and at least 1,000 pounds of cannabis during the first three weeks of enforcement actions against the state’s unlicensed retailers.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 4-3 that the odor of cannabis alone is enough to justify police searches of vehicles despite the fact that legal substances in the state — like hemp — can smell exactly the same.

New York regulators on Thursday shut down multiple unlicensed cannabis shops in Ithaca, Binghamton, and New York City. The companies now face fines of up to $10,000 per day they were operating without a license.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) appears to support considering synthetic cannabinoids that contain THC — including hemp-derived delta-8 THC — as controlled substances under federal law, according to a recent agency conference presentation.

Despite having served fewer warrants, California’s United Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce seized more cannabis and cannabis products — and eradicated more cannabis plants — during the first quarter of 2023 than the previous quarter.