Featured Analysis
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The Real Cost of Schedule III: What Small South Dakota Operators Are Actually Facing Right Now
For small operators trying to understand what federal changes actually mean: This piece breaks down the compliance costs and risks that are often glossed over. Knowledge is power — especially when the stakes are this high. South Dakota small cannabis operators are being told to relax. Federal rescheduling is here, the story goes, and everything…
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ILLEGAL: Homegrown Cannabis Remains Outside Federal Schedule III Protections — An Open Question With Real Consequences for Patients
The April 28, 2026 federal partial rescheduling order moved only two narrow categories of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III: certain FDA-approved products and marijuana produced under qualifying state-issued medical marijuana licenses.¹ Personal home cultivation was not included in either category. This creates a significant gap. In states that permit limited home growing for…
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Tribal Operators Face Extra Risks Under Federal Rescheduling — And They Should Not Trust Reassuring Advice from People with Skin in the Game
Tribal operators face additional risks that many industry voices aren’t addressing. Independent analysis matters. Tribal and Indigenous cannabis operators are in a uniquely vulnerable position under the new federal Schedule III framework. They face all the same compliance burdens as other small operators — plus additional layers of jurisdictional complexity, disclosure risk, and uncertainty around…
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June 3: Beard Bros Webinar Warns Tribal And Small Cannabis Operators Are At Risk
Check out the warnings for small operators from this webinar: Core Warnings for Small Operators 1. Compliance Costs & DEA Registration Burdens Are Real and Disproportionate • Small operators face significant new costs for legal counsel, application preparation, security upgrades, recordkeeping systems, and compliance infrastructure that many legacy businesses were never built to handle. •…
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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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The Private Reckoning: What Two Out-of-State Consultants Most Likely Taught South Dakota Operators Behind Closed Doors
The April 28, 2026 partial Schedule III order (91 Fed. Reg. 22714) did not merely lower marijuana’s scheduling classification.¹ It imposed a new federal compliance regime that effectively ended the low-overhead, cash-only state-only model that defined South Dakota’s medical cannabis program.² Some public voices have offered vague assurances that “we’ll figure it out” for the…
Policy
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ILLEGAL: Homegrown Cannabis Remains Outside Federal Schedule III Protections — An Open Question With Real Consequences for Patients
The April 28, 2026 federal partial rescheduling order moved only two narrow categories of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III: certain FDA-approved products and marijuana produced under qualifying state-issued medical marijuana licenses.¹ Personal home cultivation was not included in either category. This creates a significant gap. In states that permit limited home growing for…
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Drug Policy Liars Hurt Public Health And Safety, Kids
Hysterics and emotional performance do not help addicts. SAM made a ridiculous fallacy on twitter: Here is why this claim hurts evidence based policy decisions and damages SAM’s credibility: “Linked to” = detected on tox, not primary cause. 1980s testing was spotty. Crack epidemic brought massive violence/addiction in cities. Kratom deaths remain a tiny share…
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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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Garcia and Carley To Get the Boot from MMOC After Primary Losses; Won’t Attend Future Meetings
Josephine Garcia and John Carley are about to lose what little power they had left. Following their humiliating primary defeats on June 2, both are expected to be removed from the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC) in the coming weeks. This is standard procedure in South Dakota. When (shit talking) legislators lose their primaries, the…
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One-Term Disgraces: Garcia and Carley Tanked the MMOC and Got Fired by Voters
Josephine Garcia and John Carley took office in January 2025. By June 2026, both were one-term has-beens who lost their Republican primaries in humiliating fashion. Their short tenures were marked by dysfunction on the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC), where Garcia served as Chair and Carley as Vice-Chair. Under their leadership, the committee became so…
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Refusing to Fight And Play On “Nice Guy” Easy Mode Got Emmett Reistroffer Crushed In The Political Arena June 2nd in SD HD-35
Emmett Reistroffer finished last in the Republican primary for House District 35 with roughly 13% of the vote. In a four-way race for two seats, he was not competitive. He was rejected by a 20 point margin. He ran the campaign many (naive) people claim is the “right” way to do it. Clean. Positive. No…
Law
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The Real Cost of Schedule III: What Small South Dakota Operators Are Actually Facing Right Now
For small operators trying to understand what federal changes actually mean: This piece breaks down the compliance costs and risks that are often glossed over. Knowledge is power — especially when the stakes are this high. South Dakota small cannabis operators are being told to relax. Federal rescheduling is here, the story goes, and everything…
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ILLEGAL: Homegrown Cannabis Remains Outside Federal Schedule III Protections — An Open Question With Real Consequences for Patients
The April 28, 2026 federal partial rescheduling order moved only two narrow categories of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III: certain FDA-approved products and marijuana produced under qualifying state-issued medical marijuana licenses.¹ Personal home cultivation was not included in either category. This creates a significant gap. In states that permit limited home growing for…
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Tribal Operators Face Extra Risks Under Federal Rescheduling — And They Should Not Trust Reassuring Advice from People with Skin in the Game
Tribal operators face additional risks that many industry voices aren’t addressing. Independent analysis matters. Tribal and Indigenous cannabis operators are in a uniquely vulnerable position under the new federal Schedule III framework. They face all the same compliance burdens as other small operators — plus additional layers of jurisdictional complexity, disclosure risk, and uncertainty around…
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June 3: Beard Bros Webinar Warns Tribal And Small Cannabis Operators Are At Risk
Check out the warnings for small operators from this webinar: Core Warnings for Small Operators 1. Compliance Costs & DEA Registration Burdens Are Real and Disproportionate • Small operators face significant new costs for legal counsel, application preparation, security upgrades, recordkeeping systems, and compliance infrastructure that many legacy businesses were never built to handle. •…
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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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The Private Reckoning: What Two Out-of-State Consultants Most Likely Taught South Dakota Operators Behind Closed Doors
The April 28, 2026 partial Schedule III order (91 Fed. Reg. 22714) did not merely lower marijuana’s scheduling classification.¹ It imposed a new federal compliance regime that effectively ended the low-overhead, cash-only state-only model that defined South Dakota’s medical cannabis program.² Some public voices have offered vague assurances that “we’ll figure it out” for the…
Science
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Drug Policy Liars Hurt Public Health And Safety, Kids
Hysterics and emotional performance do not help addicts. SAM made a ridiculous fallacy on twitter: Here is why this claim hurts evidence based policy decisions and damages SAM’s credibility: “Linked to” = detected on tox, not primary cause. 1980s testing was spotty. Crack epidemic brought massive violence/addiction in cities. Kratom deaths remain a tiny share…
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One-Term Disgraces: Garcia and Carley Tanked the MMOC and Got Fired by Voters
Josephine Garcia and John Carley took office in January 2025. By June 2026, both were one-term has-beens who lost their Republican primaries in humiliating fashion. Their short tenures were marked by dysfunction on the Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee (MMOC), where Garcia served as Chair and Carley as Vice-Chair. Under their leadership, the committee became so…
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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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Predators Don’t Debate — They Rig the Game: How Black-Market-Friendly State Cannabis Programs Created the Perfect Environment for Predators — and Why Federal Legitimacy Is Ending It
The drug laws were rigged for decades. Prohibition didn’t eliminate the black market — it protected it. Cartels and underground operators thrived while legitimate patients and small businesses were crushed. When states began legalization without federal exemption, they didn’t fix the problem. They simply moved the rigged game indoors and gave it a state license.…
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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,…
Current Events
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Iowan with Depression, ADHD: “I have effectively removed pharmaceuticals from my life and have never been better”
Here’s a testimonial from an Iowan from Mahaska County: “I’ve been on over a dozen medications for depression, anxiety and adhd. Medications children and young adults should not be on. Upon taking control of my life and being solely responsible for my care, I have effectively removed pharmaceuticals from my life and have never been…
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Iowan with Spinal Stenosis: “I want medical marijuana — and I don’t want to go to jail”
Here’s a testimonial from an Iowan with spinal stenosis: “I have many things wrong with my spine: No L-3 L-4 disc Spinal Stenosis Bone Spurs Spondylolysis Spondylolisthesis Nerve Impingement I have arthritis throughout my spine, in my hands, knees, and ankles. I cannot sleep longer than 3 hours due to pain. I have been prescribed…
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“My sister suffers extreme spasticity from MS, but medical marijuana is the only thing that has helped her.”
Here’s a testimonial from Winnebago County: “Cannabis has proven medical benefits. It is impossible to overdose on, it is not a central nervous system depressor and can therefore be used in conjunction with many other drugs, it is safer to use than tylenol from a potential for death perspective, and it is far less addictive…
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Iowa Christian Talk Show Host Prays For Medical Cannabis — Urges Iowa Legislature, Christian Leaders to “Do your research”
Last Thursday, a local Christian talk radio show based out of Ames, Iowa, prayed for legalization of medical cannabis. “View From a Pew” host Reike Plecas called Christian leaders last Thursday to join him in demanding the Iowa Legislature research the benefits of medical cannabis.“View From a Pew” host Reike Plekas interviewed two mothers whose…
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10 Questions with John Zimmerman, Candidate for Johnson County Attorney
I spoke with Johnson County Attorney candidate John Zimmerman earlier this week. His campaign has caught the attention of cannabis activists around the state — it’s not everyday a Mennonite pastor runs for office promising to stop prosecuting marijuana users. To find more information on John Zimmerman’s campaign, see his facebook page here at facebook.com/jz4justice.…
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Scott County, Iowa: “Medical marijuana could dramatically help subdue those seizures”
Here’s a testimonial from Scott County, Iowa: “I have learned that some properties or compounds that come from the marijuana plant could be very helpful towards helping persons with severe seizures due to medical issues that people are born with. I am sure that there are many types of illnesses to mention here but I…
Legislation
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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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Request for NCSL Virginia Presentation On Fed Law Impacts For State Industry and Patients
Weedpress sent the following request via https://www.ncsl.org/health/state-medical-cannabis-laws Request for NCSL Presentation Slides – Federal Marijuana & Hemp Policy Implications (June 2026) Dear NCSL Staff, My name is Jason Karimi, and I publish WeedPress, an independent policy analysis site focused on cannabis regulation, federal-state issues, and legislative oversight. I am writing to request materials from a…
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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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Julian Garrett Retires: Will His Replacement Be More Pro-Marijuana in Iowa Senate District 11?
Last week, longtime Iowa State Senator Julian Garrett (R-District 11) announced he will not seek re-election due to a prostate cancer diagnosis.¹ For the first time in more than 13 years, Warren County (and part of Marion County) will have an open Senate seat in the June 2 primary and November general election. Julian Garrett…
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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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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…
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Connecticut’s HB 5044 Is Not Just a Vaccine Bill. It Is a Legislative Rewrite of RFRA Mid-Litigation.
April 24, 2026 Connecticut’s HB 5044 is being sold as a vaccine-governance bill. In one sense, that is true: the bill deals broadly with immunization standards, the Department of Public Health’s authority, insurance coverage, and related vaccine-administration issues.¹ But buried inside that larger package is the provision that matters most for religious-liberty law: HB 5044…
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West Virginia and Mississippi Tried to Move Marijuana to Schedule III. Both Bills Reveal the Same Structural Problem.
April 24, 2026 West Virginia and Mississippi each opened the 2026 session with a bill that would have done something their existing marijuana laws still refuse to do: move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under state law.¹ ² Both proposals were straightforward on paper. West Virginia’s SB 809 would amend W. Va. Code…
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The State of Religious Freedom in America in 2026: Strong but Uneven Protection Across the States
April 21, 2026 State-level protection for religious exercise in 2026 is both stronger and less uniform than many summary accounts suggest. Roughly thirty states are commonly identified as having enacted statutory Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (“RFRAs”), while a smaller additional set is often described as providing RFRA-like protection through state constitutional doctrine. The trend is…
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No. 19 — Religious Accommodation in Medical-Only Cannabis States
No. 19 — Religious Accommodation in Medical-Only Cannabis States: Structural Litigation Risk and Legislative Design By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 19April 20, 2026 ⸻ I. Introduction: The Unaddressed Gap Medical-only cannabis states operate within a tightly regulated framework. Cultivation is limited. Home grows require registration. Plant counts are capped. Inspections are authorized.…
Upcoming Events
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June 16 Zoom: What DOJ’s Partial Rescheduling of Medical Marijuana Means in Practice | OSU Moritz College of Law
Federal changes are real, but they are more limited and complicated than many people in the South Dakota space are claiming. Reading the Tea Leaves A Tale of Two Schedules: What DOJ’s Partial Rescheduling of Medical Marijuana Means in Practice Tuesday, June 16, 2026 noon-1:15 p.m. Zoom The recent U.S. Department of Justice’s order partially rescheduling…
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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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Anonymous Speech Online: What the Law Protects — and Where It Stops
Anonymous speech has a long American pedigree, but anonymity is not the same thing as impunity. From the founding era forward, Americans have used unsigned pamphlets, pseudonymous essays, and concealed authorship to criticize power, test arguments, and protect dissenters from retaliation.² The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that anonymity can be part of the freedom…
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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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Dead Sea Scrolls Prove Book of Enoch Was Canonical During Jesus Time
The Dead Sea Scroll Proof Between 1947–1956, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered at Qumran. Among them were at least 11 distinct Enoch manuscripts — more copies than many Old Testament books. That tells us something critical: Enoch was not fringe. It was core scripture for major Jewish communities before Jesus. What the Scrolls show:…
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WeedPress Warned Political Violence Was Increasing And Now A 19 Year Old Was Assassinated
I met with Governor Kim Reynolds with the head of the Iowa College Republicans and other leaders in 2017 to warn political violence with my college activist group was on the rise. My colleague at Iowa State, Ryan Hurley, former President of Young Americans for Liberty at Iowa State, testified to the Governor he was…
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“Unlocked Potential: Small Businesses in the Cannabis Industry”
In 2019, senior legal fellow Paul J. Larkin Jr. provided testimony titled “Unlocked Potential: Small Businesses in the Cannabis Industry” before the U.S. House Small Business Committee. Key Points on Business Impacts and Policy Recommendations • Differential Impacts: The testimony acknowledges that federal prohibition creates barriers for all cannabis businesses but notes that small operators…
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The Five Enemies Of Greatness
Spotted at a Sioux Falls Vern Eide dealership fix it ticket for camera security today.
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“Code of the West” Covers Montana’s Failed Effort To Repeal Marijuana Laws
Year: 2012 At a time when the world is rethinking its drug policies large and small, one state rises to the forefront. Once a pioneer in legalizing medical marijuana, the state of Montana may now become the first to repeal its medical marijuana law. Set against the sweeping vistas of the Rockies, the steamy lamplight…
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How Kim Reynolds Bullied Iowa City Council Members Out of Decriminalizing Marijuana
Iowa city council members who wished to decriminalize marijuana tell Iowa cannabis activists Kim Reynolds threatened to take away city funds from the state if the city council pursues marijuana decriminalization. As of today Kim Reynolds is the most unpopular governor in the country. Republicans stifling debate on a winning political issue using threats to…
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RFRA Changes The Cannabis Game; Fulfills My Prediction Religious Cannabis Constitutional Claims
Prior to RFRA state laws, I argued the first amendment right to religion would bring constitutional rulings for individuals protecting religious access to cannabis in private prayer. I think this is still the inevitable end result of cannabis litigations. There are several things to note about the RFRA.
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Patient Perspectives
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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,…
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The South Dakota Board of Pharmacy and the April 2026 Federal Partial Rescheduling: An Implementing Role in a Layered Statutory Framework
The federal government’s April 2026 partial rescheduling of marijuana—placing FDA-approved products and marijuana subject to a qualifying state-issued medical marijuana license into Schedule III while leaving most adult-use marijuana in Schedule I—has created new conformity pressures for mature medical cannabis states.¹ South Dakota illustrates one variant of this federalism challenge. Unlike states with a single…
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The Post-Announcement Phase of Cannabis Rescheduling: What the June DEA Hearing Means, What States May Have to Change, and What to Watch Next
The most important cannabis-law story in the country is no longer the announcement that part of the marijuana market has been moved into Schedule III. It is the implementation phase that follows. In April 2026, the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration took the unusual step of immediately placing state-licensed medical marijuana and…
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South Dakota Medical Cannabis Prices vs. Colorado and Washington: Why Patients Pay WAY More in the Mount Rushmore State
South Dakota’s medical cannabis program was designed to provide safe, legal access for qualifying patients. Yet current dispensary prices for flower — the most common form of medicine — remain dramatically higher than in mature recreational markets like Colorado and Washington. This price gap directly burdens patients, limits access, and undermines the voter-approved goal of…
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605 Cannabis LLC, Public Oversight, and Program Integrity: A Public-Records Timeline for South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Program
South Dakota’s medical cannabis program was created by voters to serve patients. It is also a regulated industry. That means licensed establishments, establishment agents, compliance officers, campaign leaders, committee members, and public-facing executives do not operate in a purely private sphere. When a licensed cannabis business is inspected, suspended, sued, settled with, politically active, represented…
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 