Featured Analysis
-
From Raich to Rescheduling: How State Medical Laws Changed the Legal Meaning of “Currently Accepted Medical Use”
In Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court upheld federal power to prohibit intrastate medical cannabis even where state law authorized it.¹ Although Raich did not prescribe a particular avenue for reform, its decision left intact Congress’s administrative scheduling framework under the Controlled Substances Act. As a practical matter, the ruling shifted reform efforts toward Congress…
-
New Approach South Dakota Goes Quiet on Advocacy While Mentele Stays Active on a Blocked Profile
Here’s the transcripts front Mentele v WeedPress, where Mentele spent six months trying to silence WeedPress from advocating for federal law changes because she was afraid, in her own court testimony, I would replace her somehow as a leader in South Dakota cannabis. So desperate to maintain her delusions of self importance and leadership that…
-
Email to South Dakota DOH: Expert Insights On Scheduling Impacts Requested! July 20, 2026
Update 2: July 26 11:11 pm I have decided to give the department one full business week to respond to the second email sent in update 1 below. I will email them and update for update 3 if there is no response by end of July/this Friday. Then I will simply request confirmation of prior…
-
WeedPress Appellee Brief, Melissa Mentele v. Jason Karimi, South Dakota Supreme Court, July 15, 2026
Transcript of May 12, 2026 hearing and DENIAL of Mentele TPO against WeedPress for blogging about federal law changes available here: IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA MELISSA MENTELE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. JASON ROBERT BURHAM KARIMI, Respondent-Appellee. (Appeal from Minnehaha County Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit) TPO 26-343 APPELLEE’S BRIEF Jason Karimi…
-
“We Are In A Courtroom. This Isn’t Facebook.” Judge Rejects Mentele’s Claims
During a Temporary Protection Order hearing, South Dakota Judge Andrew Robertson told the petitioner, “We are in a courtroom. This isn’t Facebook.” The comment came as Melissa Mentele attempted to frame policy criticism and public records as threats to her safety. The court record shows this was not an isolated moment. It reflects a broader…
-
New Approach South Dakota’s Damaged Credibility, Lies To Judges To Get Political Competitor Arrested: Court Transcripts
Transcript PDF of Mentele v Karimi court hearing round 4 in full: You folks out there can do what you want. As for me, I’m going to go back to focusing on federal exemption advocacy as I have since 2009, before Mentele told me to stop and then got me arrested for continuing advocating, by…
Policy
-
South Dakota’s Schedule I Listing Still Shapes Real Cases. Moving Cannabis to Schedule III Would Change Who Gets Charged How.
South Dakota already runs a medical cannabis program. It also still lists hashish, hash oil, and tetrahydrocannabinols in Schedule I. Those two facts sit in different titles of the code, and they do not cancel each other out. The medical statutes create a permission structure for qualifying patients and licensees. The Schedule I listing still…
-
Health Department Tells Lawmakers South Dakota’s $20 Home-Grow Law Is Too Thin to Police — and Tightening It Raises Safety Questions
The Department of Health did not need a ballot fight to put a warning on the medical cannabis statute. It used the August Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee.¹ Program administrator Whitney Brunner told the committee that licensed home cultivators rose from 61 in fiscal year 2022 to 715 in fiscal year 2026 — a 1,072 percent…
-
Michigan Promised Further Guidance On Federal Law. Months Later, Where Is It?
When the Department of Justice announced its historic federal medical cannabis rescheduling order on April 23, 2026, state cannabis regulators immediately faced a common challenge: determining how the new federal framework would affect their own licensing systems, regulatory programs, and compliance expectations. Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) responded the same day with a measured and…
-
When States Respond Differently to Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling: The Growing Legal and Operational Risks Facing Cannabis Licensees
The Department of Justice’s April 2026 final order placing qualifying state-licensed medical cannabis into Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act represented the most significant federal regulatory development affecting state medical cannabis programs since Congress first enacted the Controlled Substances Act in 1970.¹ Although the order did not legalize adult-use marijuana, nor eliminate federal…
-
Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling Has Produced Four Distinct State Responses—But Most States Still Have Not Chosen One
On April 23, 2026, the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration fundamentally changed federal cannabis policy by issuing a final order placing FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana distributed pursuant to qualifying state medical marijuana licenses into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act while simultaneously initiating broader administrative proceedings regarding additional…
-
South Dakota Reports Fewer Cannabis Businesses—but Not Why Their Licenses Disappeared
Welcome back to WeedPress, South Dakota’s only source for transparency and open public debate. South Dakota’s medical cannabis industry has lost 34 certified establishments since reaching its reported peak in state fiscal year 2023. The Department of Health reported 139 registered establishments in SFY 2023. That total fell to 124 in SFY 2024, 118 in…
Law
-
Why Business Lawyers and Lawmakers Must Master the U.S. Reinterpretation of the Single Convention: Treaty Flexibility as the Foundation for Durable Cannabis Reform
The United States’ ongoing transformation of federal cannabis policy—from rigid Schedule I prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to a more nuanced regulatory framework—has long been cabined by claims of international legal constraint. For decades, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) invoked the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as an absolute bar to any…
-
The Federal Rescheduling Shockwave Hits: South Carolina and 26 Other States Appear to Have Automatic or Mandatory Conformity Mechanisms for Federal Marijuana Scheduling Changes
Suggested citation: Karimi, Jason, The Federal Rescheduling Shockwave Hits: South Carolina and 26 Other States Appear to Have Automatic or Mandatory Conformity Mechanisms for Federal Marijuana Scheduling Changes (May 05, 2026). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6726361 In late April 2026, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice and DEA issued a final order moving FDA-approved drug products containing…
-
DEA Registration Decision Tree: 5 Questions Every Medical Operator Should Answer Before June 26
The June 26, 2026 deadline is not a suggestion. It is the cutoff for expedited DEA Schedule III registration under the new federal medical marijuana framework. File on time and you lock in six-month guaranteed processing, continued state-law operations during review, and the clearest path to improved banking and payments. Miss it and you fall…
-
Why Cannabis Operators Can’t Afford to Ignore the Federal Rescheduling Details — And What You Must Do Now
The federal government has split cannabis into two tracks. FDA-approved drug products containing marijuana and marijuana activity tied to a qualifying state-issued medical marijuana license under the new federal framework now occupy a different federal posture, while broader marijuana remains in Schedule I pending further proceedings.¹ That split is real, immediate, and carries tax, compliance,…
-
WeedPress Looked Deeper: Congress’ Quiet Move to Block Trump’s Cannabis Rescheduling — and Why It Threatens Operators
The quietest threat to the federal cannabis shift is not coming from DEA’s June hearing. It is coming from the House appropriations process. On May 13, 2026, the full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the FY2027 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill after the CJS subcommittee approved its version on April 30. Buried…
-
The Federal Government Just Split Cannabis into Two Legal Tracks Overnight — and Congress Could Kill Both Within Weeks
Last week, the Department of Justice, acting through DEA, created a dual-track federal cannabis regime: state-licensed medical cannabis moved to Schedule III, while recreational cannabis remains in Schedule I.¹ This bifurcation is unstable. A single appropriations rider could functionally nullify the entire framework before medical operators stabilize and before the broader rescheduling process advances.² What…
Science
-
When Public Advocates Attack Motives Instead of Answering Evidence
Public policy debates should be resolved by evidence, not by assumptions about the motives of the people participating in them. Yet it is common for substantive criticism to be met with claims that the critic is motivated by jealousy, a desire for power, or some other personal grievance rather than by the merits of the…
-
Online Workshop – Candidate Vulnerability Assessment
Every candidate enters a race with potential vulnerabilities. These may include previous statements, professional history, financial records, social media activity, personal relationships, policy positions, or inconsistencies in the candidate’s public record. https://leadershipinstitute.org/event/701VL00000xvu8MYAQ Campaigns often devote significant time and resources to researching their opponents while failing to conduct the same level of research on their own…
-
Professional Eyes on WeedPress: What an Exiger Referral Means
Analytics occasionally reveal more than pageviews. One recent referral to WeedPress came from insight.exiger.com. That domain belongs to Exiger, a global risk, compliance, and investigative intelligence firm. Their Insight platform is used by corporations, law firms, financial institutions, and investigative teams to conduct due diligence, monitor public information, and assess risk. When traffic arrives from…
-
Working in Huron’s Federal Building Today — and a Reminder of What Rounds’ Staff Said Last Summer
I’m in Huron today working at the federal building, troubleshooting and repairing an IT failure for the offices here. While on site, conversations with staff turned to cannabis policy and federal rescheduling. It brought back a discussion I had last summer while installing computers in Senator Mike Rounds’ offices in Pierre. During that work, staff…
-
Cannabis Is Being Rebuilt From the Ground Up: Closed Technology Systems and Medical Gaps Force a New Foundation
The cannabis industry is still operating on incomplete infrastructure—both technological and scientific. That was the central message of a recent Trade to Black episode from The Dales Report, featuring Flowhub founder and CEO Kyle Sherman and Dr. Paul Shields.¹ The conversation made clear that many of the systems currently supporting cannabis retail and medical use…
-
Iowa Medical Cannabis Board Public Meeting This Friday July 24 (DETAILS) (YOUTUBE)
Update: video is linked below of this meeting: Meeting Information for July 24, 2026 Medical Cannabidiol Board Meeting Beginning at 10:00am on Friday, July 24, the second Medical Cannabidiol Board meeting of 2026 will be held virtually using the information below: * For those who wish to participate in the public comment period virtually, please send an email…
Current Events
-
Health Department Tells Lawmakers South Dakota’s $20 Home-Grow Law Is Too Thin to Police — and Tightening It Raises Safety Questions
The Department of Health did not need a ballot fight to put a warning on the medical cannabis statute. It used the August Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee.¹ Program administrator Whitney Brunner told the committee that licensed home cultivators rose from 61 in fiscal year 2022 to 715 in fiscal year 2026 — a 1,072 percent…
-
SD AG WeedPress Questions: October’s MMOC Meeting
South Dakota’s August 17 MMOC meeting confirmed institutional uncertainty that WeedPress policy posts had already identified and documented in statutory detail. Those WeedPress posts do not replace official guidance, but they do supply usable legal architecture, prior administrative filings, and concrete policy questions that the Committee and DOH can employ as they move toward the…
-
When States Respond Differently to Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling: The Growing Legal and Operational Risks Facing Cannabis Licensees
The Department of Justice’s April 2026 final order placing qualifying state-licensed medical cannabis into Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act represented the most significant federal regulatory development affecting state medical cannabis programs since Congress first enacted the Controlled Substances Act in 1970.¹ Although the order did not legalize adult-use marijuana, nor eliminate federal…
-
South Dakota Reports Fewer Cannabis Businesses—but Not Why Their Licenses Disappeared
Welcome back to WeedPress, South Dakota’s only source for transparency and open public debate. South Dakota’s medical cannabis industry has lost 34 certified establishments since reaching its reported peak in state fiscal year 2023. The Department of Health reported 139 registered establishments in SFY 2023. That total fell to 124 in SFY 2024, 118 in…
-
Online Workshop – Candidate Vulnerability Assessment
Every candidate enters a race with potential vulnerabilities. These may include previous statements, professional history, financial records, social media activity, personal relationships, policy positions, or inconsistencies in the candidate’s public record. https://leadershipinstitute.org/event/701VL00000xvu8MYAQ Campaigns often devote significant time and resources to researching their opponents while failing to conduct the same level of research on their own…
-
South Dakota Medical Cannabis Establishments Drop 11% as National License Counts Continue Multi-Year Decline
South Dakota’s medical cannabis industry continues to contract, extending a multi-year decline in licensed establishments. Official Department of Health figures show the total number of certified establishments fell from 118 in FY 2025 to 105 as of the July 14, 2026, public list—a decline of 11.0%, from 118 establishments to 105.¹ Measured from the SFY…
Legislation
-
WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map
WeedPress Is Mapping the Battlefield While Others Debate the Map WeedPress Policy SeriesBy Jason Karimi ⸻ There are two kinds of publications in contentious policy environments. Some debate what the terrain should look like. Others study what the terrain actually is. WeedPress was built to do the second. While many cannabis commentators remain focused on…
-
HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics
HB 1065 Heads to the Floor: The Primary Gap in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics As restriction legislation advances, the absence of effectively deterrent electoral pressure reveals a leverage problem within the state’s cannabis movement. As House Bill 1065 advances to the South Dakota House floor, the moment calls for structural reflection rather than rhetorical…
-
No. 4 – The Controlled Substances Act Is Not a Blunt Instrument — It Is an Architecture of Exceptions
A recent Harvard Law Review–discussed argument (as reviewed in Drug Scheduling Is Institutional Design — And That Changes Everything) suggests the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is structurally imperfect — designed for prohibition rather than regulation — and therefore in need of legislative overhaul. That framing misunderstands the statute’s architecture. The CSA was not written as…
-
South Dakota Testimony in Opposition to SB 181 and SB 194: When Federal Law Is Misunderstood in State Policy
Committee AgendaCommittee: Senate Health and Human ServicesRoom: Room 412Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2026Time: 7:45 AM-9:45 AMRegister electronically to testify: https://sdlegislature.gov/testify/301839 Senators Jensen (Kevin), Davis, Grove, Perry, Reed, Smith, and Voight BILL HEARINGSSB 181 cause the repeal of the medical cannabis chapter upon the federal re-scheduling of cannabis (Introduced)Introduced by: Senator Carley SB 194 limit the…
-
SD Lawmakers Quietly Pull Medical Cannabis Arrest Bill From Agenda
Lawmakers Quietly Pull Medical Cannabis Arrest Bill From Agenda By Jason Karimi | WeedPress: The Paper Trail PIERRE, S.D. — A controversial bill that would have expanded police authority to arrest registered medical cannabis patients was quietly pulled from the South Dakota Legislature’s agenda this week — a move that signals mounting resistance to efforts…
-
New SD Bill Would Let Police Arrest Medical Cannabis Patients Over Misplaced Cards
SB 95 would allow police to arrest otherwise compliant medical marijuana patients in South Dakota solely for failing to immediately produce a physical card or card number, overriding existing statutory protections 🏛️ South Dakota SB 95 — What It Does By Jason Karimi Bill Summary: Require that a medical cannabis cardholder provide a card or…
RFRA Updates
-
Nebraska First Freedom Act RFRA Appeal: Notes On General Language In Judicial Opinions
Türkiye Halk Bankası / Illinois v. Lidster: general language in an opinion is about the case then in front of the Court, not every later fact pattern. He is telling you not to treat a sentence from O Centro or a church case as a machine that prints a win for a lone probationer in…
-
$150: Paying for the Record in Nebraska’s First Freedom Act Appeal
On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, I mailed a $150 cashier’s check to the Thurston County District Court at P.O. Box 216, Pender, Nebraska 68047. The check covers the estimated cost of the Bill of Exceptions for the April 8, 2026 evidentiary hearing on my request to modify a probation condition under Nebraska’s First Freedom Act.¹…
-
Court Said I Didn’t Prove My Religion Because I Didn’t Testify. I’m Appealing Under Nebraska’s Religious “First Freedom Act”
Today I filed a Notice of Appeal in Thurston County District Court challenging the July 1, 2026 Order that denied my motion to modify a probation condition under the Nebraska First Freedom Act. The motion I filed sought a narrowly tailored religious accommodation allowing sacramental cannabis use consistent with my practice of the Rastafari faith.…
-
Nebraska RFRA Appeal Argument, July 21, 2026
ARGUMENT I. The District Court Erred by Treating Defendant’s Personal Testimony as Effectively Indispensable to Establishing Sincerity Under the Nebraska First Freedom Act. The district court denied Defendant’s motion on the ground that he failed to establish a “sincerely held religious belief.” The court reasoned as follows: “There was no direct evidence of Defendant’s sincerely…
-
Clarifying the Burden of Proof on Religious Sincerity Under RFRA and the Nebraska First Freedom Act
This submission addresses the proper burden of proof regarding religious sincerity under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1, and the Nebraska First Freedom Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-1701 et seq., in the context of a probation modification request seeking a religious exemption for the sacramental use of cannabis. Legal Standard:…
-
“Exorcism:” Why Spiritually Attuned Paths Reject Fear-Based Rituals of Casting Out
This article examines why exorcism, as commonly understood and practiced across traditions, often represents a spiritually mistaken approach. It externalizes power that belongs to the individual’s divine spark, frequently misattributes psychological or energetic imbalances, and can reinforce fear-based dualism instead of the living reality of “I and I”—the recognition that the Divine dwells within and…
Upcoming Events
-
Online Workshop – Candidate Vulnerability Assessment
Every candidate enters a race with potential vulnerabilities. These may include previous statements, professional history, financial records, social media activity, personal relationships, policy positions, or inconsistencies in the candidate’s public record. https://leadershipinstitute.org/event/701VL00000xvu8MYAQ Campaigns often devote significant time and resources to researching their opponents while failing to conduct the same level of research on their own…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
South Dakota’s Schedule I Marijuana Prohibition Heads to Court This Summer: Lawsuit Will Seek Declaration That State Law No Longer Satisfies Its Own Criteria
This summer I intend to file a civil action against the State of South Dakota seeking a judicial declaration that the state’s Schedule I classification of marijuana no longer satisfies the statutory criteria required for Schedule I placement under South Dakota law.¹ The claim is straightforward: once the factual predicate of “no accepted medical use”…
For The Record (2026), By Jason Karimi
-
South Dakota Faces Risk of Automatic Rescheduling Under Existing Statutory Language
The recent action by Wyoming’s Attorney General demonstrates that states are increasingly recognizing the legal significance of federal marijuana rescheduling where state statutes incorporate federal scheduling decisions. South Dakota’s existing statutory language raises similar questions that should be addressed before federal reform takes effect. WeedPress has previously warned that South Dakota law contains automatic trigger…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Chapter 2: Before the File Was Opened
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
-
Most States Are Still Silent: How State Cannabis Regulators Are Responding to Federal Medical Cannabis Rescheduling
Three months after the Department of Justice issued its final order placing qualifying state-licensed medical cannabis into Schedule III, state cannabis regulators remain far from unified. A review of official guidance issued through late July 2026 reveals a fragmented national response: only a handful of agencies have formally interpreted the federal change, while most have…
-
Online Workshop – Candidate Vulnerability Assessment
Every candidate enters a race with potential vulnerabilities. These may include previous statements, professional history, financial records, social media activity, personal relationships, policy positions, or inconsistencies in the candidate’s public record. https://leadershipinstitute.org/event/701VL00000xvu8MYAQ Campaigns often devote significant time and resources to researching their opponents while failing to conduct the same level of research on their own…
-
The July 28 Runoff Is Small Enough for Cannabis Voters to Matter. Here’s the Math, South Dakota.
The Republican gubernatorial runoff is July 28. Toby Doeden faces incumbent Larry Rhoden. For people who care about the stability of South Dakota’s medical cannabis program, the question is straightforward: does a modest, targeted vote actually matter in this race? The numbers say yes — but only if the expectations stay realistic. What the June…
-
High-Conflict Personalities and Covert Sadism: Overlapping Patterns of Persistent Targeting
Understanding patterns of prolonged personal conflict requires more than one analytical lens. Two frameworks that frequently intersect are the high-conflict personality model and the concept of covert sadism described by former FBI agent Joe Navarro.¹ When examined side by side, these frameworks reveal significant overlap in how certain individuals escalate disputes, externalize blame, and sustain…
-
The Integrity of the Individual: Jordan Peterson’s Diagnosis of Societal Collapse and the Policy Failures That Turned a Minneapolis Arrest into Preventable Tragedy
In a lecture examining the psychology of those who embrace solitude as a forge for original thought and voluntary responsibility, Jordan B. Peterson returns to a recurring theme that cuts through every domain of human organization: “The answer to the problem of humanity is the integrity of the individual. That’s the answer. So states that…
-
Holy Shit. Was I Wrong? Homegrown May Be Federally Legal Now After All?
Just woke up to this idea: this section… …found here: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-II/part-1301/subject-group-ECFR0f5a129834f0129/section-1301.13#p-1301.13(k)(5) …may legally allow homegrown to be included under federal law after all. WeedPress previously warned homegrown may be illegal and to watch that closely: An absolute legend of the cannabis movement has filed with DEA to rule on the homegrown issue. No organization or…
-
Fixing A SD Courthouse Electrical Cabling For Gate Entrance
GSA, the General Services Administration, sent me out as an IT tech to troubleshoot a control panel issue at a gate for judges and attorneys to enter at a courthouse. Determined the electrical cable run at the gate was needing replaced. The GSA had me bend conduit and run a new cable which I didn’t…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
No, South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Rules Do Not Satisfy Federal Schedule III Requirements — Operators Will Need to Make Real Adjustments
New analysis shows that South Dakota’s current licensing rules do not fully satisfy the new federal Schedule III requirements. DEA registration, security upgrades, and disclosure obligations represent real adjustments that many operators will need to make. Blanket claims that “everyone will be fine with little change” overlook these gaps. Some voices in South Dakota are…
-
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…
Patient Perspectives
-
Understanding High-Conflict Personalities: When You Become the Target of Blame
High-conflict personalities are individuals who consistently turn disagreements into prolonged, intense, and destructive battles. Unlike people who simply disagree or become emotional during conflict, high-conflict personalities tend to escalate disputes, externalize blame, and struggle to resolve conflict in a healthy or proportionate way.¹ Over the past several months, nearly a year straight now, I have…
-
New Approach South Dakota’s Damaged Credibility, Lies To Judges To Get Political Competitor Arrested: Court Transcripts
Transcript PDF of Mentele v Karimi court hearing round 4 in full: You folks out there can do what you want. As for me, I’m going to go back to focusing on federal exemption advocacy as I have since 2009, before Mentele told me to stop and then got me arrested for continuing advocating, by…
-
New Approach South Dakota Pivots And Rebrands With New Leadership Amid Ongoing Concerns
Following publication of this article, New Approach South Dakota publicly clarified that the anticipated leadership changes referenced in an earlier discussion concerned the Marijuana Policy Project, not New Approach South Dakota itself. New Approach states it is adding partners and expanding resources but will remain under its current leadership. Multiple conflicting statements in 2026 about…
-
Fixing A SD Courthouse Electrical Cabling For Gate Entrance
GSA, the General Services Administration, sent me out as an IT tech to troubleshoot a control panel issue at a gate for judges and attorneys to enter at a courthouse. Determined the electrical cable run at the gate was needing replaced. The GSA had me bend conduit and run a new cable which I didn’t…
-
New York Launches Program to Educate Doctors About Cannabis
“The University at Albany and Albany Medical Center are supporting the initiative. SUNY Upstate Medical University, Stony Brook Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, CUNY School of Public Health, and New York State Office of Mental Health are also involved in the center.” Read: https://ganjapreneur.com/new-york-launches-program-to-educate-doctors-about-cannabis/
-
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…
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 