
Featured Analysis
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Iowa Court Filing Implicates South Dakota Banking Costs – No, South Dakota Banking Isn’t “All Good”
“Although banking access has improved in some respects, marijuana’s schedule I status has made many financial institutions, insurers, payment processors, lenders, secure-cash transporters, investors, and commercial vendors unwilling to work with state-licensed marijuana companies, including Intervenors, or willing to do so only at substantially increased cost,” the motion says. “Schedule I status also limits access…
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Nebraska Judge: WeedPress Didn’t Provide Evidence Of Religious Sincerity
Time to appeal. DEFENDANT’S RENEWED PRO SE MOTION TO MODIFY PROBATION CONDITION PURSUANT TO THE NEBRASKA FIRST FREEDOM ACT IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THURSTON COUNTY, NEBRASKA STATE OF NEBRASKA, Plaintiff, v. JASON KARIMI, Defendant. Case No. CR23-13 DEFENDANT’S RENEWED PRO SE MOTION TO MODIFY PROBATION CONDITION PURSUANT TO THE NEBRASKA FIRST FREEDOM ACT (Neb.…
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Summer Business Applications For Nebraska’s Cannabis Program Now Open
Nebraskans don’t deserve good marijuana. Smugglers, dump your garbage weed in Nebraska. Summer 2026 Cannabis Licensing Opportunities: Nebraska and Missouri As this summer heats up, so are new cannabis licensing opportunities. Licenses for both Nebraska’s medical program and Missouri’s hybrid adult-use/medical program will be available this summer, with licenses slated to be awarded in the…
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Iowa Injunction Petition 2025-2026 (Ongoing Updates Here)
Iowa District Court, Polk County Carl Olsen, Petitioner Case No. 05771 CVCV068508 File DateDocumentFiled By06/20/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/17/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/11/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/10/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/09/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/03/2026Court Reporter CertificateCourt Reporter06/01/2026Order Regarding TranscriptsDistrict Court05/29/2026Motion for April 24, 2026, Hearing TranscriptCarl Olsen05/28/2026Order Denying Motion for Summary JudgmentDistrict Court05/18/2026Motion for Judicial Notice – Transportation…
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Watch DEA Rescheduling Hearing Updates Here All Week
The Dales Report is covering the daily play by plays for the DEA hearings on cannabis as a valid medicine: Get the patients off the battlefield, especially those in South Dakota nursing homes being discriminated against, or those in Iowa nursing homes in court this month fighting eviction over medical cannabis use, and THEN cry…
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Government Witness Tells DEA Five Factor Test Would Never Reschedule Marijuana – New Test Fixes That Problem
The new two part test the government created to declare marijuana is medicine was a big deal. Now, government witnesses tell the public the old five part test was never going to let marijuana be recognized as medicine. Prohibitionist group SAM shares the details: More details here at The Dales Report:
Policy
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Iowa Court Filing Implicates South Dakota Banking Costs – No, South Dakota Banking Isn’t “All Good”
“Although banking access has improved in some respects, marijuana’s schedule I status has made many financial institutions, insurers, payment processors, lenders, secure-cash transporters, investors, and commercial vendors unwilling to work with state-licensed marijuana companies, including Intervenors, or willing to do so only at substantially increased cost,” the motion says. “Schedule I status also limits access…
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Government Witness Tells DEA Five Factor Test Would Never Reschedule Marijuana – New Test Fixes That Problem
The new two part test the government created to declare marijuana is medicine was a big deal. Now, government witnesses tell the public the old five part test was never going to let marijuana be recognized as medicine. Prohibitionist group SAM shares the details: More details here at The Dales Report:
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Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Architecture: From 2011 Arizona Preemption Fights to Schedule III in 2026
For more than seventeen years, the central argument advanced on WeedPress has been straightforward: medical cannabis cannot achieve real legitimacy or stability while operating in a permanent state of federal prohibition. State programs alone, no matter how well-intentioned, were always structurally limited by the Controlled Substances Act’s Schedule I classification and the absence of workable…
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The Watchman’s Hour: 1 AM Reflections on Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Vigilance
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/06/04/nursing-home-takes-regulators-to-court-over-residents-eviction/ Lately I wake up almost every night around 1 AM and stay awake for hours. Not from anxiety or restlessness in the ordinary sense, but with a clear, alert presence. The house is quiet. The world outside is sleeping. And my mind turns, as it has for years, to the intricate architecture of federal…
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South Dakota Cannabis Banking: The Persistent Cash Problem Behind the Claims
“If you’re gonna take the risk, you gotta do the frisk.” – ZipTrader Charlie South Dakota’s medical cannabis program has always operated under a difficult reality: while the state legalized medical access, the federal government still treats cannabis as a Schedule I substance (with only partial movement to Schedule III for state-regulated products in 2026).…
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Indigenous Women’s Medicine Wheel Ride – August 9 Sturgis (Sign Up Here)
I’ll be on this ride at Sturgis this year on the marijuana Harley ultra glide. Go to the guy with the reggae blasting to link. Prayer at 8:30. Bring your safety gear as well. $60 registration. Follow Doodle On A Motorcycle on YouTube for updates. Ride starts at Outlaw Square. Register here: https://www.medicinewheelride.org/ Who We…
Law
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Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes
Incentives, Not Intentions: How Legislative Behavior Actually Changes By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2, 2026 Political movements often misread opposition. They assume legislation advances because lawmakers are hostile, ideological, or morally opposed. Sometimes that is true. More often, legislative behavior is shaped by incentives — not intentions. ⸻ A thousand angry emails do not…
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South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412)
South Dakota Hearing on HB 1065: Medical Cannabis “Affirmative Defense” Change — 7:45 a.m. Monday (Capitol Room 412) By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 2 2026 Public comment is welcome. The Senate Health & Human Services Committee meets Monday, March 2, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. in Capitol Room 412, and HB 1065 (revising the medical-purpose…
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No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism
No. 10 — Federal Preemption After Rescheduling: Conflict, Obstacle, and Cannabis Federalism If federal enforcement priorities shift while federal prohibition remains intact, courts will increasingly confront whether the CSA preempts state licensing structures that depend on continued federal forbearance. Whether state laws are argued as exemptions to new and changing federal CSA directives will likely…
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South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded
South Dakota’s MMOC Board Is Political Theatre And Needs Disbanded By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 24, 2026 South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) has always looked more serious on paper than it has been in practice. Now the House has voted 41–26 to move HB 1160, the bill that would repeal it, and…
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No. 9 – Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling
Dormant Commerce Clause, Preemption, and Cannabis Rescheduling By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 9February 2026 The prior essays examined how modern administrative law constrains federal cannabis reform through doctrines of delegation, deference, and procedural review. If marijuana is rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), however, a different constitutional doctrine may move to…
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South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record
South Dakota’s Schedule I Problem Is Now in the Administrative Record By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 Today, a formal Petition for Declaratory Ruling and Mandatory Scheduling Review of Cannabis was submitted to the South Dakota Department of Health under SDCL § 1-26-13, requesting review of marijuana’s continued placement in Schedule I. I…
Science
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Here’s Video of MedPharm’s Latest Marijuana Education Seminar in Des Moines
The Des Moines area dispensary hosted an educational event about cannabis with a good Q & A at the end on March 7th of 2019 and I thought we’d share video over here for those who could not attend. It is well worth the watch. — Jason
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HEMP LAW SIGNED BY WYOMING GOVERNOR | Facebook Statement Quoted By Media Captures Complexities Of This Moment In Time
Sometimes the media catches moments in time that are deeply personal and also, ironic and/or amusing. While the Governor signed the hemp bill into law, the Governor’s chief of staff reportedly received this gift from a leading marijuana minister: “I just gave the Governor’s chief of staff a hemp gift bag with a hemp…
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Upcoming Senate Judiciary & Public Safety Meeting To Discuss Cannabis consumption, use, and possession authorization
Minnesotans will have the opportunity to testify on a marijuana regulation bill seeking to remove total prohibition from the market. From Sensible Change Minnesota: Monday 11 March 2019 from 1 pm Central to 3:15 pm Central 1100 Senate Office Building Details Hearing on SF 619 (Franzen) ; Cannabis cultivation, consumption, use and possession authorization,…
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Republican Representative Jeff Shipley Live Updates On The Psychedelic Medical Mushroom Bill And His Scheduled Appearance At An Oregon Psilocybin Gala With Dr. Paul Stamets And Dennis McKenna!
From a Facebook update this afternoon following a discussion on the Iowans Access To Alternative Healthcare bill. Relevant discourse concerning the psychedelic medicine bill begins at six minutes ten seconds of the Live video: “Most legislation dies without even getting a hearing…I really think we deserve getting a lot more in depth with these issues.”…
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MDMA Therapy Training Colorado May 2019 Registration Now Available! Details here:
MDMA Therapy Training Colorado, May 2019 MDMA Therapy Training Program training@mapsbcorp.com via mailchimpapp.net Wed, Feb 13, 8:05 PM (4 days ago) me Expanded Access Application Update View this email in your browser MDMA Therapy Training Program We are pleased to announce that an additional MDMA Therapy Training Part B Retreat will take place May 4 –…
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Iowa reacts to GOP medical mushrooms being used under clinical supervision for PTSD, trauma
Here’s the comments so far from today’s Des Moines Register Facebook page: The Des Moines Register 7 hrs · “People are open-minded and they’re curious,” the Iowa lawmaker said. About This Website desmoinesregister.com Meet the Iowa GOP lawmaker who wants to decriminalize psychedelic drugs for medicinal use 180Jayla Clark and 179 others 61 comments33 shares…
Current Events
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The Beautiful Game as Peacemaker: How the World Cup Is Revealing America’s Greatness to the World
In 2014, I was in Indiana at a national recruiting tournament for U.S. Soccer. I spent the week meeting MLS coaches and refereeing some of the best young players in the country. Between games I sat in a giant, air-conditioned referee tent with catered organic food and a massive screen tuned to the World Cup.…
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South Dakota Small Cannabis Operators Face a Compliance Cliff: Federal Rescheduling Likely to Drive More Closures and Force Consolidation
The collapse of recreational legalization efforts in South Dakota already triggered a wave of dispensary closures. At least eight licensed medical cannabis businesses shuttered in late 2024 and early 2025 amid falling cardholder numbers, intense price competition, and regulatory pressures.¹ “Then it was a race to the bottom on pricing,” one industry participant observed as…
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SD: Brandon City Council Considers Sharp Reduction in Medical Cannabis Renewal Fees at June 1 Meeting
On June 1, 2026, the Brandon City Council took up a proposal to significantly lower annual renewal fees for medical cannabis businesses operating inside city limits.¹ The measure, requested by local cultivator Cannanaut, would reduce the renewal application fee from $5,000 to $500.² While the council discussed the change and appeared supportive of advancing it,…
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The June 27 DEA Registration Deadline Is Coming Fast: South Dakota Operators Face a Compliance Cliff as the Safe Harbor Window Closes
With the June 27 DEA registration deadline approaching, the following analysis examines the practical timeline and compliance pressures facing South Dakota operators. South Dakota’s licensed medical cannabis operators now have roughly 29 days to secure critical federal protections before the expedited DEA registration window closes. On April 28, 2026, the Department of Justice and Drug…
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Nebraska RFRA Religious Liberty Case Advances: Supplemental Authority Filed Citing Federal Schedule III Rescheduling
Defendant Jason Karimi has filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority in Nebraska District Court while his motion to modify probation conditions under the Nebraska First Freedom Act remains under advisement. The filing notifies the Court of the recent federal Schedule III rescheduling action and Defendant’s participation in the ongoing DEA administrative proceeding (Docket No. DEA-1362)…
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I Spent 17 Years Arguing for Federal Cannabis Legitimacy. Now Small Operators Are About to Learn What That Means.
I have spent most of my adult life arguing that state medical cannabis programs could not survive forever as legally tolerated gray markets.¹ They needed federal recognition. They needed treaty analysis. They needed administrative pathways. They needed constitutional pressure. They needed people willing to say the uncomfortable thing before the institutions were ready to admit…
Legislation
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The Patients Left Behind: How South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Law Still Punishes the Sickest Among Us
In Iowa recently, a 91-year-old woman was told she had to leave the nursing home she called home because she used medical cannabis to manage her pain and symptoms. The facility gave her an ultimatum: stop using the medicine her doctor supported, or move out. She refused. The case went to court. What should have…
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Patient Legal Risks Solved: A User-Level Exemption Model for Schedule III
The April 28, 2026 federal partial rescheduling order left a significant gap: personal home cultivation was not included in the narrow categories moved to Schedule III. Colorado attorneys Brian Vicente and Rachel Gillette have been direct about the practical consequences. Vicente noted that home grows do not qualify for the new federal registration pathway because…
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Travis Ismay Responds to My Congratulatory Email: A Small Step Toward Civil Discourse in South Dakota Politics
Yesterday, Rep. Travis Ismay (R-House District 28B) replied to the congratulatory email I sent him shortly after his decisive Republican primary victory on June 2.¹ For context, here is the full exchange: My email (June 2, 2026): For context, here is the full exchange: It’s a brief, gracious response — and one I appreciate. Background…
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The Rural Access Question South Dakota’s New Pharmacy Rules Raise for Medical Cannabis
As regulators embrace telepharmacy and remote prescription pickup, policymakers may eventually face similar questions about medical cannabis access in rural communities. South Dakota’s Board of Pharmacy is advancing updated rules under Article 20:51 of the Administrative Rules of South Dakota (ARSD) that formalize the use of remote drop sites for prescription medications and introduce a…
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I Spent 17 Years Arguing for Federal Cannabis Legitimacy. Now Small Operators Are About to Learn What That Means.
I have spent most of my adult life arguing that state medical cannabis programs could not survive forever as legally tolerated gray markets.¹ They needed federal recognition. They needed treaty analysis. They needed administrative pathways. They needed constitutional pressure. They needed people willing to say the uncomfortable thing before the institutions were ready to admit…
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Stork Just Sent a Researcher to WeedPress: What Academic Tools Mean for Cannabis Policy Analysis
Independent statutory deep-dives are showing up alongside peer-reviewed literature in researchers’ workflows. It’s not every day your analytics dashboard lights up with a referrer you’ve never seen before. Today, May 5, 2026, WeedPress received a visit from paper-box.co — the domain tied to Stork (storkapp.me), a specialized publication-tracking and research intelligence platform used by academics,…
RFRA Updates
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Iowa Injunction Petition 2025-2026 (Ongoing Updates Here)
Iowa District Court, Polk County Carl Olsen, Petitioner Case No. 05771 CVCV068508 File DateDocumentFiled By06/20/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/17/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/11/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/10/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/09/2026Motion for Judicial Notice Carl Olsen06/03/2026Court Reporter CertificateCourt Reporter06/01/2026Order Regarding TranscriptsDistrict Court05/29/2026Motion for April 24, 2026, Hearing TranscriptCarl Olsen05/28/2026Order Denying Motion for Summary JudgmentDistrict Court05/18/2026Motion for Judicial Notice – Transportation…
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The Watchman’s Hour: 1 AM Reflections on Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Vigilance
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/06/04/nursing-home-takes-regulators-to-court-over-residents-eviction/ Lately I wake up almost every night around 1 AM and stay awake for hours. Not from anxiety or restlessness in the ordinary sense, but with a clear, alert presence. The house is quiet. The world outside is sleeping. And my mind turns, as it has for years, to the intricate architecture of federal…
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Letter To Court June 25, 2026
Jason Karimi June 25, 2026 Honorable [Judge’s Full Name] District Court Judge Thurston County District Court Pender, NE 68047 Re: State v. Jason Karimi Case No. CR23-13 Status Inquiry – Motion for Religious Accommodation Dear Judge, I am writing regarding the above-referenced matter. An evidentiary hearing on my Motion for Religious Accommodation under the Nebraska…
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DEA ALJ Preliminary Order Confirms Medical Cannabis Rescheduling Is Already Done: June 29 Hearing Limited to the “Remainder” of Marijuana
On June 18, 2026, Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek C. Julius of the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Preliminary Order that sharply narrows the scope of the upcoming expedited administrative hearing on marijuana rescheduling. The order makes clear that the rescheduling of FDA-approved marijuana products and state-regulated medical marijuana products has already occurred and will…
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Nebraska RFRA Religious Liberty Case Advances: Supplemental Authority Filed Citing Federal Schedule III Rescheduling
Defendant Jason Karimi has filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority in Nebraska District Court while his motion to modify probation conditions under the Nebraska First Freedom Act remains under advisement. The filing notifies the Court of the recent federal Schedule III rescheduling action and Defendant’s participation in the ongoing DEA administrative proceeding (Docket No. DEA-1362)…
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I Have Filed Notice to Participate in the DEA’s June 29 Rescheduling Hearing
Today I formally submitted my Notice of Intention to Participate in the DEA administrative hearing on the proposed rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III (Docket No. DEA-1362), scheduled to begin June 29, 2026. This filing continues my 17-year record of cannabis policy advocacy and public commentary. It focuses on the interaction between…
Upcoming Events
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Indigenous Women’s Medicine Wheel Ride – August 9 Sturgis (Sign Up Here)
I’ll be on this ride at Sturgis this year on the marijuana Harley ultra glide. Go to the guy with the reggae blasting to link. Prayer at 8:30. Bring your safety gear as well. $60 registration. Follow Doodle On A Motorcycle on YouTube for updates. Ride starts at Outlaw Square. Register here: https://www.medicinewheelride.org/ Who We…
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The June 27 DEA Registration Deadline Is Coming Fast: South Dakota Operators Face a Compliance Cliff as the Safe Harbor Window Closes
With the June 27 DEA registration deadline approaching, the following analysis examines the practical timeline and compliance pressures facing South Dakota operators. South Dakota’s licensed medical cannabis operators now have roughly 29 days to secure critical federal protections before the expedited DEA registration window closes. On April 28, 2026, the Department of Justice and Drug…
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Advance Notice to South Dakota Department of Health: Petition for Scheduling Review Will Follow Federal Rescheduling Hearings
South Dakota’s medical cannabis program stands at a critical juncture following the federal partial rescheduling of certain marijuana products to Schedule III.¹ After the DEA’s June 29, 2026 rescheduling hearing concludes, the undersigned will formally petition the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) to review and align the state’s Schedule I classification of marijuana with…
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I Have Filed Notice to Participate in the DEA’s June 29 Rescheduling Hearing
Today I formally submitted my Notice of Intention to Participate in the DEA administrative hearing on the proposed rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III (Docket No. DEA-1362), scheduled to begin June 29, 2026. This filing continues my 17-year record of cannabis policy advocacy and public commentary. It focuses on the interaction between…
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I Spent 17 Years Arguing for Federal Cannabis Legitimacy. Now Small Operators Are About to Learn What That Means.
I have spent most of my adult life arguing that state medical cannabis programs could not survive forever as legally tolerated gray markets.¹ They needed federal recognition. They needed treaty analysis. They needed administrative pathways. They needed constitutional pressure. They needed people willing to say the uncomfortable thing before the institutions were ready to admit…
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Why South Dakota’s Own Statutes Now Make Schedule I Marijuana Unlawful to Maintain
“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is placing both FDA-approved drug products containing marijuana, and medicinal marijuana products subject to a qualifying state-issued license in Schedule III under his authority to reschedule drugs to carry out the United States’ obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.”¹ South Dakota, however, is not automatically bound by that…
For The Record (2026), By Jason Karimi
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The Watchman’s Hour: 1 AM Reflections on Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Vigilance
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/06/04/nursing-home-takes-regulators-to-court-over-residents-eviction/ Lately I wake up almost every night around 1 AM and stay awake for hours. Not from anxiety or restlessness in the ordinary sense, but with a clear, alert presence. The house is quiet. The world outside is sleeping. And my mind turns, as it has for years, to the intricate architecture of federal…
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Reflections on a Bruised Nail: What My Left Middle Finger Injury Taught Me About Inner Worth and Boundaries
Two months ago, I slammed my left middle finger, resulting in a subungual hematoma—the dark pool of blood trapped beneath the nail that turned my fingertip into a visual reminder of sudden impact.¹ No longer painful, the nail still carries a mottled shadow of black and white as new growth slowly pushes the old damage…
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I Have Filed Notice to Participate in the DEA’s June 29 Rescheduling Hearing
Today I formally submitted my Notice of Intention to Participate in the DEA administrative hearing on the proposed rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III (Docket No. DEA-1362), scheduled to begin June 29, 2026. This filing continues my 17-year record of cannabis policy advocacy and public commentary. It focuses on the interaction between…
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DARE Poster Kid to Marijuana Regulation Advocate: My Unchanging Fight to Protect Kids
When I was in elementary school, the DARE program left a lasting impression. Officers visited regularly, warning us about the dangers of drugs and pushing the “just say no” message. I took it seriously. So when the school announced an anti-drug poster contest open to elementary students, I threw myself into creating something impactful. My…
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Chapter 10: What Remains
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 9: The Record vs. the Narrative
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 8: What the Media Gets Wrong
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 7: Why I Never Left
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 6: Staying Power
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 5: The Apprenticeship
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 4: Learning the Language of Power
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
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Chapter 3: Becoming a Problem
Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted education, faith, discipline, and early legitimacy Chapter 3 — Becoming a ProblemWork, exhaustion, collapse, and the cost of visibility Chapter 4 — Learning the Language of PowerCourts, probation, jail, campaigns, and proximity to decision-makers…
Commentary
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Why Success Is So Rare: Zig Ziglar’s Five Gates You Must Pass
They stab you in the backAnd they claim that you are not lookingBut Jah have them in the regionIn the valley of decision Go down back-biter, (down back-bite)Go down back-biter, (down back-bite) Now you get what you wantDo you want more? (want more)Now you get what you wantDo you want more? (want more?) – Bob…
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Haile Selassie and the Highest Art of Power: Winning Without Drawing the Sword
History remembers emperors for their conquests. Haile Selassie I is remembered for something rarer — for proving that the highest art of politics is not domination by force, but mastery of legitimacy, symbolism, patience, and law. His reign stands as one of the clearest demonstrations in modern history that enduring power does not come from…
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Why Choosing Your Enemies Wisely Is Crucial in Politics
Politics is as much about strategy as it is about ideas. Whether you’re running for office, advocating for a cause, or steering public policy, the opponents you pick — and how you engage them — can make or break your efforts. This lesson is captured succinctly in The Laws of the Public Policy Process: “Choose…
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Tribute To Ras Jamison Arend, Lion.
Jamison Arend Jamison Arend was my best friend, with a great view of life. We’ve taken the dogs to the river park in St.Paul. When I was lead lobbyist for medical cannabis in 2014, and getting screwed by a rigged legislature and a terrible medical bill and program, I made weekly pilgrimages to Jamison’s house…
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All My Law Classmates Hate Being Lawyers
Lawyer note: This article is a personal reflection on my own experiences and beliefs, not a factual survey of anyone else. In two years of being the best student in 30 years at paralegal school (the programs assistant heads words, and unsolicited meritorious praise, were not mine) I learned that my next step, law school,…
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Overdose Deaths Are Plummeting (Thank God)
Joe Rogan just said the quiet part out loud about Trump’s war on drugs and it completely shatters the media’s narrative. Overdose deaths are COLLAPSING nationwide and Rogan says it’s not an accident. “They’re blowing up these f*cking boats that are bringing in all the drugs!” ROGAN: “From the time Trump’s been in office, deaths…
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Rumi: Prison For Drunks
All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there. This drunkenness began in some other tavern. When I get…
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2026 Surya Year: No Time To Mess Around
Namaste 🙏, There are certain years that quietly pass by… and then there are years that reshape destiny. As we approach 2026, the universe prepares for one such profound shift. In our latest Rudralife Podcast, we explore why 2026 will feel different for everyone, a year governed by Surya, the Sun, the eternal source of life, authority, vitality, and truth. 🌞 The…
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Cannabis Movement Ending Era Of Personalities
The cannabis world is structurally changing. It’s moving away from informal, personality-driven, relationship-based influence and toward: 1. compliance-heavy operations 2. institutional capital 3. audited finances 4. federal-facing regulatory posture 5. documentation, transparency, and risk controls That shift favors people and organizations that are: 1. procedurally clean 2. boring in a good way 3. compliance-literate 4.…
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Humans Abusing Sacred Psychedelics; Plant Teachers Aren’t Happy; Warning To Humanity
In 2026, the year of the Fire Horse (double fire incoming as horse is fire itself), psychedelics are going to correct/withdraw guidance from the humans for not respecting them. I wondered when, not if, this process of spirit realm correction would come about. Taking without reciprocal giving has never worked out with God. The gifts…
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Catholics Aren’t “Bad Religion” Nor Are The Followers
Instead, the religion serves different human needs. Education simplifies and destroys hate. And moral architecture MATTERS. So does curiosity and exposure to different world views. (Sorry to all the Catholics I accused of worshipping Lucifer in the past.) 2025 has been quite the year, let me tell ya Anyways I need to finish this book…
Patient Perspectives
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Iowa Court Filing Implicates South Dakota Banking Costs – No, South Dakota Banking Isn’t “All Good”
“Although banking access has improved in some respects, marijuana’s schedule I status has made many financial institutions, insurers, payment processors, lenders, secure-cash transporters, investors, and commercial vendors unwilling to work with state-licensed marijuana companies, including Intervenors, or willing to do so only at substantially increased cost,” the motion says. “Schedule I status also limits access…
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Watch DEA Rescheduling Hearing Updates Here All Week
The Dales Report is covering the daily play by plays for the DEA hearings on cannabis as a valid medicine: Get the patients off the battlefield, especially those in South Dakota nursing homes being discriminated against, or those in Iowa nursing homes in court this month fighting eviction over medical cannabis use, and THEN cry…
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Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Architecture: From 2011 Arizona Preemption Fights to Schedule III in 2026
For more than seventeen years, the central argument advanced on WeedPress has been straightforward: medical cannabis cannot achieve real legitimacy or stability while operating in a permanent state of federal prohibition. State programs alone, no matter how well-intentioned, were always structurally limited by the Controlled Substances Act’s Schedule I classification and the absence of workable…
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New Iowa Medical Cannabis Law Changes Explained
HF990 Implementation – What it Means On June 2, 2026, Governor Reynolds signed HF990 into law. This legislation impacts the issuance of medical cannabidiol registration cards by Iowa HHS, including removal of the Iowa residency requirement to become a patient. This FAQ is provided to help stakeholders understand these changes that will be in effect on July 1, 2026, and…
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The Watchman’s Hour: 1 AM Reflections on Seventeen Years of Federal Exemption Vigilance
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/06/04/nursing-home-takes-regulators-to-court-over-residents-eviction/ Lately I wake up almost every night around 1 AM and stay awake for hours. Not from anxiety or restlessness in the ordinary sense, but with a clear, alert presence. The house is quiet. The world outside is sleeping. And my mind turns, as it has for years, to the intricate architecture of federal…
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The Patients Left Behind: How South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Law Still Punishes the Sickest Among Us
In Iowa recently, a 91-year-old woman was told she had to leave the nursing home she called home because she used medical cannabis to manage her pain and symptoms. The facility gave her an ultimatum: stop using the medicine her doctor supported, or move out. She refused. The case went to court. What should have…