Featured Analysis
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Marijuana’s Schedule I Original Sin: Nixon, Political Control, and Fifty Years of Failed Federal Rescheduling
April 23, 2026 Marijuana’s federal Schedule I status was never just a scientific judgment. It was born at the intersection of bureaucracy, racial politics, antiwar backlash, and executive power. The Controlled Substances Act placed marijuana in Schedule I in 1970, the most restrictive category in federal drug law, reserved for substances deemed to have a…
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Five Structural Weaknesses Still Haunting South Dakota Cannabis
April 23, 2026 South Dakota’s medical-cannabis program is no longer a novelty. It is a real system with real patients, real establishments, real regulators, and real consequences. By April 2026, the state program had approved 18,759 patient cards.² That is large enough that the old excuses no longer work. We are past the stage where…
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Lawyer Briefing Zoom Meeting On Rescheduling Happening This Monday Register Here
On Monday, April 27, at 11 AM MT / 1 PM ET, Vicente LLP and Marijuana Policy Project will convene for a timely online briefing, “What Happens Now with Cannabis Rescheduling? Industry Leaders on Medical vs. Adult-Use, June 29 Hearing and Expected Litigation”featuring cannabis attorneys, advocates and policy experts covering: Register now and learn more at: bit.ly/cannabis-rescheduling …
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The Bifurcated Rescheduling Confusion: Why Cannabis and Psychedelics Lawyers Must Stay Alert
April 23, 2026 What the Justice Department did on April 23, 2026 is both progress and a warning. DOJ announced that FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana products subject to a qualifying state-issued medical license are being placed into Schedule III immediately, while a separate administrative hearing beginning June 29, 2026 will consider the broader question…
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WeedPress Blueprint Update 1
April 23, 2026 Tracker — newly surfaced / incremental developments since last sweep https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-week-in-weed-april-2026-3-9554026/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-week-in-weed-april-2026-3-9554026/ Priority watchlist shift: Rhode Island residency litigation + possible legislative cure is the most material new development in this run.
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Blueprint 2026
April 21, 2021 The architecture WeedPress is following to cover policy nationwide this year: Layer 1: Source monitoring Layer 2: Structured trackerGoogle Sheet with columns like: Master tracker columns Use one Google Sheet with these columns: Core identity Legal substance Source control Workflow Best values for each column Category Use only: Subcategory Examples: Item type…
Policy
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The Litigation Front of Cannabis Reform: Why Ryan Kolbeck’s Courtroom Work Matters Beyond South Dakota
April 25, 2026 While cannabis reform is often narrated through ballot initiatives, legislatures, and federal rescheduling debates, some of its most consequential work occurs in trial courts, where rights are defended one defendant at a time.¹ In South Dakota, attorney Ryan Kolbeck’s work illustrates that underappreciated litigation front.² Prohibition survives not merely through statutes, but…
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Nice Buys You Deference. Bullying Buys You Scrutiny.
April 24, 2026 Enjoy the weak end. There is a simple rule in public life that many leaders learn too late: people forgive more from those who treat them well. That does not mean kindness can permanently hide incompetence. It cannot. But in business, politics, advocacy, nonprofits, and public-facing leadership roles, basic decency buys a…
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Maryland Just Drew a New Line on Veterinary Cannabis
April 24, 2026 In a new development, Maryland has protected veterinarians from professional discipline solely for discussing or recommending cannabis or cannabidiol products for animals. House Bill 452 and Senate Bill 54, signed on April 14, 2026 as Chapters 47 and 48, bar the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners from suspending or revoking a…
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Five Structural Weaknesses Still Haunting South Dakota Cannabis
April 23, 2026 South Dakota’s medical-cannabis program is no longer a novelty. It is a real system with real patients, real establishments, real regulators, and real consequences. By April 2026, the state program had approved 18,759 patient cards.² That is large enough that the old excuses no longer work. We are past the stage where…
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South Dakota Finally Decides Free Speech Should Not Be Bankrupted
April 17, 2026 For years, South Dakota had a hole in its legal architecture that should have embarrassed any state claiming to respect free speech. If someone with money, status, or institutional backing wanted to punish a critic, a journalist, a blogger, or an activist, the process itself could become the weapon. Even a weak…
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Start Here: What WeedPress Is, What It Covers, and Why the Record Matters
April 16, 2026 WeedPress is a publication about records, policy, law, and power. It exists for one reason: in cannabis politics, if you do not document the record, someone else will rewrite it. For 17 years, WeedPress has tracked the gap between rhetoric and structure — between what movements say, what institutions do, and what…
Law
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The Litigation Front of Cannabis Reform: Why Ryan Kolbeck’s Courtroom Work Matters Beyond South Dakota
April 25, 2026 While cannabis reform is often narrated through ballot initiatives, legislatures, and federal rescheduling debates, some of its most consequential work occurs in trial courts, where rights are defended one defendant at a time.¹ In South Dakota, attorney Ryan Kolbeck’s work illustrates that underappreciated litigation front.² Prohibition survives not merely through statutes, but…
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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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Weedpress Email To South Dakota DOH, April 24, 2026
Ms. Jorgensen, Rereading this letter today. I wanted to express gratitude for the clarity and professional guidance on the laws in this state. Also, I have attached a file provided to me two years ago on state scheduling processes and laws. The laws are not up to date and have likely been adjusted from the…
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The Attorney General Just Said State Medical Marijuana Systems Work
April 24, 2026 The most important sentence in the new federal marijuana rescheduling order may not be the word “Schedule III.” It may be the Attorney General’s finding that state medical-marijuana systems, “taken as a whole,” have demonstrated a “sustained capacity” to achieve the public-interest objectives behind the Controlled Substances Act’s registration framework: public health,…
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Nick Moser’s Role in the Hemp Quarters 605 Case
April 24, 2026 South Dakota’s 2024 hemp fight produced one notable federal case: Hemp Quarters 605 LLC v. Noem, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota on June 13, 2024. The plaintiff, Hemp Quarters 605 LLC, challenged House Bill 1125, South Dakota’s law restricting chemically derived hemp cannabinoids. Yankton attorney…
Science
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University of Iowa’s Dr. Brian Kaskie: 3 Out Of 4 Medical Cannabis Users Never Used Cannabis Before, Debunking Concerns About Medical Marijuana Program Being Used By The Unholy “Pothead”
I’m watching today’s Iowa Medical Cannabidiol board meeting, and an interesting graphic just popped up on the screen during Dr. Brian Kaskie’s presentation that shows that the Illinois medical cannabis program is not being used by potheads or stoner stereotypes. Instead, in Illinois, 3 out of 4 legal medical cannabis patients never used cannabis before.…
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First Draft For Decriminalize Des Moines Has 30 Policy Points. Anyone Have Any More?
Ok! So, I was invited to provide suggestions for policy proposals on decriminalizing marijuana in Des Moines. The following is my first final draft, due August 24th, to be sent to the Des Moines Marijuana Enforcement Task Force. If you have any suggestions for how Des Moines should decriminalize marijuana that you would like included…
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Here’s The Massively Important Full Text Of The Des Moines Iowa Marijuana Decriminalization Resolution 20-1065 Approved By City Council Vote On June 22 2020 (Read Here)
Good news. I was invited to write suggestions and policy proposals on marijuana decriminalization in Des Moines to the Des Moines City Council Marijuana Enforcement Task Force Chair, Gary Dickey. I figured actually reading the resolution in it’s entirety, as well as reviewing the city council hearing from June 22nd for context, was going to…
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August’s Office of mCBD Hearing Has Been Rescheduled — Iowa Cannabis Advocates Invited To Attend September 4 at 10 AM
For more of the latest breaking news in the Iowa mCBD program experiment, follow WeedPress on Facebook by clicking here and giving us a “like!” See you September 4th during the virtual meeting. Multiple WeedPress contributors will be taking part. Video from the last hearing in June can be seen here if you haven’t seen…
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Brett Favre SIGNED: Legendary NFL Quarterback Endorses Hemp CBD Over Opioids For Pain Recovery
Brett Favre is the latest professional athlete to publicly endorse and advocate for the medicinal use of cannabis for post-game or workout session recovery. Here’s one of Brett Favre’s ads: Green Eagle is the go-to source legendary NFL player Brett Favre uses and endorses for effective, affordable relief from discomfort and soreness as well as…
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Friedman, Milton. 1967. “Why Not a Volunteer Army?” New Individualist Review, Vol. 4, No. 4, Spring, pp. 3-9
Friedman concludes, “One of the greatest advantages in human freedom was the commutation of taxes in kind to taxes in money. We have reverted to a barbarous custom. It is past time that we regain our heritage.” Read Friedman’s thoughtful article here at Google Books. Full URL link: https://books.google.com/books?id=yrCOBIn1m1IC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=Friedman,+Milton.+1967.+%E2%80%9CWhy+Not+a+Volunteer+Army?%E2%80%9D+New+Individualist+Review,+Vol.+4,+No.+4,+Spring,+pp.+3-9&source=bl&ots=1kur8txzBN&sig=ACfU3U1ED0fkZltjqn6wTfNuRUYhrfbflA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiT0Nnv5M7pAhWCKs0KHW9gD9AQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Friedman%2C%20Milton.%201967.%20%E2%80%9CWhy%20Not%20a%20Volunteer%20Army%3F%E2%80%9D%20New%20Individualist%20Review%2C%20Vol.%204%2C%20No.%204%2C%20Spring%2C%20pp.%203-9&f=false Further readings on this idea come…
Current Events
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So Why Did 47 Iowa House Democrats Vote Against Expanding Iowa’s Marijuana Program In 2020?
Iowa Democrats seem to have sold out Iowa marijuana patients in 2020. Will they sell Iowa patients out again in 2021? This was the results of the House vote on a bill that added additional conditions and removed the THC cap in Iowa, House File 2589, which Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed last year: Everyone…
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How To Analyze Social Media Accounts To Destroy Political Opponents Effectively
I’ve decided to mirror the entire article from this website below. This adds a tremendous value to WeedPress followers in case it is ever deleted or hidden by Brandy for various reasons. Like, if Brandy ever grows something resembling a conscience, or gets some basic ethics, maybe. https://datajournalism.com/read/handbook/verification-3/investigating-actors-content/how-to-analyze-social-media-accounts This is truly fascinating stuff to be…
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Des Moines Register: Des Moines’ marijuana enforcement proposal needs more input, officials say
This doesn’t look too good for Des Moines police public relations here. The Des Moines City manager, however, as well as lawyer Gary Dickey, are on point. From this Des Moines Register article today: The resolution forming the task force promised a Des Moines Police Department official would be made available for consultation as needed.…
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DEA Response To Iowa’s Petition To Exempt Iowa State Medical Cannabis Patients From Legal Burdens, November 10 2020
To read the letter from the Drug Enforcement Administration to Iowans for Medical Marijuana founder Carl Olsen, follow this link: https://www.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/pdfs/dea-response-2020-11-10.pdf You can also download the pdf file, mirrored here at this WeedPress link: For more Iowa breaking news on marijuana advocacy efforts, follow WeedPress on Facebook.
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Agenda: November 13, 2020 Virtual Medical Cannabidiol Board Meeting
View the original post at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/2aae0d2 Agenda: November 13, 2020 Virtual Medical Cannabidiol Board Meeting Having trouble viewing? View this as webpage 11/9/2020 Agenda: November 13, 2020 Virtual Medical Cannabidiol Board Meeting Beginning at 10:00am on Friday, November 13, 2020, the final Medical Cannabidiol Board meeting of 2020 will be held virtually using the information below: WebEx Link (Click…
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Received An Interview Request To Discuss Des Moines Decriminalization Efforts And Election Impact
I received the following email this week: I host a progressive podcast and am a supporter of legal marijuana. Do you have someone who could do a Zoom interview on the election and also comment on this task force? https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/11/06/des-moines-marijuana-enforcement-task-force-finalizes-report/5867244002/Please let me know? Thank you!All the best,George A. Clarkwww.podcastbygeorge.com George has over 200 episodes completed.…
Legislation
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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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WeedPress Blueprint Update 1
April 23, 2026 Tracker — newly surfaced / incremental developments since last sweep https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-week-in-weed-april-2026-3-9554026/ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-week-in-weed-april-2026-3-9554026/ Priority watchlist shift: Rhode Island residency litigation + possible legislative cure is the most material new development in this run.
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Blueprint 2026
April 21, 2021 The architecture WeedPress is following to cover policy nationwide this year: Layer 1: Source monitoring Layer 2: Structured trackerGoogle Sheet with columns like: Master tracker columns Use one Google Sheet with these columns: Core identity Legal substance Source control Workflow Best values for each column Category Use only: Subcategory Examples: Item type…
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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.…
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No. 17 — Federal Rescheduling and State Statutory Insulation: Indiana as a Case Study in Vertical Federalism Design
No. 17 — Federal Rescheduling and State Statutory Insulation: Indiana as a Case Study in Vertical Federalism Design By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 17April 7, 2026 ⸻ When the federal government signals that marijuana may be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, public debate gravitates toward legalization politics. That is the wrong…
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South Dakota District 35’s Republican Primary: Who’s Best Positioned in the Four-Way Race?
South Dakota District 35’s Republican Primary: Who’s Best Positioned in the Four-Way Race? By Jason Karimi | WeedPress April 4, 2026 South Dakota House District 35 is one of the more interesting Republican primaries in the state this cycle because it is an open-seat race with four Republican candidates competing for two House nominations on…
RFRA Updates
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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.…
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The Record Is the Case: Religious-Cannabis Claims Are Won Long Before the Judge Rules
The Record Is the Case: Religious-Cannabis Claims Are Won Long Before the Judge Rules By Jason Karimi | WeedPress April 14, 2026 Religious-cannabis cases are not won on sympathy. They are not won on slogans. They are not won because a claimant sounds sincere in the hallway or because a cause feels morally compelling in…
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The Next Religious-Cannabis Test Case: What Courts Will Actually Need To See
The Next Religious-Cannabis Test Case: What Courts Will Actually Need To See By Jason Karimi | WeedPress April 14, 2026 Religious-cannabis cases have been discussed as though the central question were whether a judge personally finds the practice unusual, controversial, or politically inconvenient. That is not the real question. The real question is whether a…
Upcoming Events
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They Don’t Get To License The Press
Recent reporting indicates a Florida judge extended a temporary restraining order involving James O’Keefe and also ordered firearm surrender pending further proceedings. Whether that order is a pure First Amendment prior-restraint problem depends on what it actually forbids. If it regulates threats, contact, or violence, that is one thing; if it blocks publication, reporting, or…
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Iowa Medical Cannabis Board Hearing Friday March 27 (DETAILS)
Meeting Information: March 27, 2026 – Medical Cannabidiol Board Beginning at 10:00am on Friday, March 27 the first 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 to medical.cannabis@hhs.iowa.gov expressing your interest. You will use the zoom or…
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Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Launches Statewide Town Hall Tour By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 7, 2026 Scottsbluff to Lincoln: Advocates Take Patient Access Conversation Across the State Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana (NMM) is hitting the road this week with a statewide town hall tour aimed at updating patients, families, and community members on…
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Federal Public Comment Available Now (Texas Too)
Public input needed! Federal first then Texas: Federal Update: CMS & Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids On November 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) filed a proposed ruleto incorporate the federal definition of hemp that will take effect on November 12, 2026. This proposed rule clarifies that cannabis or hemp-derived products illegal under federal or state…
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Tomorrow: Best Attorneys Discuss Federal Rescheduling At Noon
https://x.com/jamiecampbell/status/2006159843267145790?s=46 RSVP and attend at noon central/ 1 eastern 1-6-2025 Be there or be square. Link also here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UKmdX9EBQs2HYOW7epomvA#/registration
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Reminder: Rising to the Moment: Protecting and Advancing Cannabis Legalization in a Changing America
Rising to the Moment: Protecting and Advancing Cannabis Legalization in a Changing America Date & TimeDec 17, 2025 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada) Webinar ID815 7712 0875 Description BGM and Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) invite you to join us for a timely discussion on the current state of the national legalization landscape. We will…
For The Record (2026), By Jason Karimi
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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 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 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…
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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…
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“For The Record” Chapter 1: The First Arrest
The following 8,580 word book is ten chapters long and written for future advocates. FOR THE RECORD How Power Actually Works—and Why Documentation Outlasts the Narrative By Jason Karimi Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1 — The First ArrestEarly rupture, authority, and the beginning of resistance Chapter 2 — Before the File Was Opened Gifted…
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On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval
On Independence, Accountability, and Why I Don’t Build My Work Around Approval By Jason Karimi At 19, I ended up in a homeless shelter. Not because I committed a crime.Not because I was addicted.Not because I couldn’t work. I was there because I stood up in court for religious cannabis rights, made the front page…
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Why WeedPress Chooses to Be a High-Heat, Contrarian Watchdog
Why WeedPress Chooses to Be a High-Heat, Contrarian Watchdog By Jason Karimi | WeedPressJanuary 24, 2026 WeedPress was not created to be polite. It was not created to echo press releases, recycle activist talking points, or play nice with institutions that have repeatedly failed cannabis patients, small operators, and civil liberties. WeedPress exists to document,…
Commentary
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Leadership Matters: Strategy Failure — Not the Supreme Court — Doomed Legalization in South Dakota
Editors note: This piece analyzes past campaign strategy using publicly available court records and election results. When South Dakota voters approved Constitutional Amendment A in November 2020 to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana, many supporters saw it as a historic victory for reform. But what followed — a legal challenge and a ruling from the…
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Deadwood Was South Dakota’s Origin Story
Deadwood Was South Dakota’s Origin Story HBO’s western is not just about one outlaw camp. It is about the culture of theft, violated Lakota land, gold obsession, and rough power that helped shape the state By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 26, 2026 HBO’s Deadwood is not a documentary. It is something more dangerous to…
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Ziggy Marley’s “Racism Is A Killa” Uses Satire as a Public-Health Warning
Ziggy Marley’s “Racism Is A Killa” Uses Satire as a Public-Health Warning By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 26, 2027 In the video for “Racism Is A Killa,” Ziggy Marley does not treat racism as a private flaw or a bad opinion. He frames it as a social sickness, and satire is the instrument that…
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The District Math: How Primary Elections Actually Decide Legislative Power in South Dakota
The District Math: How Primary Elections Actually Decide Legislative Power in South Dakota By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 23, 2026 If HB 1065 was a diagnostic, district math is the operating manual. Political influence in South Dakota is not determined by statewide sentiment alone. It is determined district by district — often by a…
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From Diagnosis to Discipline: Building Primary Leverage in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics
From Diagnosis to Discipline: Building Primary Leverage in South Dakota’s Medical Cannabis Politics By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 16, 2026 HB 1065 advancing is a test for the medical cannabis movement in South Dakota. If a restriction bill can clear committee 8–3 and advance toward the House floor with minimal electoral anxiety, the movement…
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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…
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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…
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Discipline Forged Under Scrutiny: Why the Hard Path Produces the Most Careful Lawyers
Discipline Forged Under Scrutiny: Why the Hard Path Produces the Most Careful LawyersBy Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 14th, 2026 ⸻ Some of the most disciplined lawyers are not the ones who glide through clean transcripts and uninterrupted résumés. They are the ones who had to fight to be admitted. They understand that the…
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Outline of Cannabis Federalism: Constitutional Architecture in a Post-Prohibition Era
New book in monograph form incoming. Estimated release date: July 4, 2026 Cannabis Federalism: Constitutional Architecture in a Post-Prohibition Era Subtitle: A Structural Analysis of Vertical Preemption, Horizontal Protectionism, and Patient-Centered Regulatory Design By Jason Karimi Proposed Table of Contents Preface From Conflict to Architecture Brief, measured acknowledgment of the volatility of the cannabis policy…
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The “Lazy but Ambitious” Minority: Why 15–20% of People Are Wired Differently — and How That Can Be a Strength
The “Lazy but Ambitious” Minority: Why 15–20% of People Are Wired Differently — and How That Can Be a Strength By Jason Karimi A growing body of productivity and behavioral-psychology content points to a counterintuitive personality pattern: a significant minority of people — often estimated informally at 15–20% of the population in coaching and productivity…
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Why I No Longer Testify at Most Hearings
Why I No Longer Testify at Most Hearings Seventeen Years, Four Bills Passed, and Managing Campaigns and Staff Have Taught Me Institutional Architecture Is Not a Two-Minute Topic By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 12, 2026 This week’s attempt to repeal South Dakota’s medical cannabis laws leaned on ignorance of the federal architecture and…
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Call for Prosecutions Raises Concerns About Politicization
Call for Prosecutions Raises Concerns About Politicization When criminal law becomes a first-resort response to disagreement, institutional trust is at risk By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | January 17, 2026. In recent weeks, prominent progressive commentators have openly discussed the need for criminal accountability for political opponents. On a podcast appearance with CNN’s Jim Acosta,…
Patient Perspectives
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The Litigation Front of Cannabis Reform: Why Ryan Kolbeck’s Courtroom Work Matters Beyond South Dakota
April 25, 2026 While cannabis reform is often narrated through ballot initiatives, legislatures, and federal rescheduling debates, some of its most consequential work occurs in trial courts, where rights are defended one defendant at a time.¹ In South Dakota, attorney Ryan Kolbeck’s work illustrates that underappreciated litigation front.² Prohibition survives not merely through statutes, but…
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A Fourth 605 Cannabis-Linked TPO Petition Was Also Denied. At What Point Does the Pattern Itself Become News?
All claims regarding court filings are based on public judicial records. Opinions expressed are those of the author. April 24, 2026 Another protection-order petition tied to the same broader dispute over public reporting and criticism was denied. That matters not simply because one more petition failed, but because the public record now reflects a repeated…
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Nice Buys You Deference. Bullying Buys You Scrutiny.
April 24, 2026 Enjoy the weak end. There is a simple rule in public life that many leaders learn too late: people forgive more from those who treat them well. That does not mean kindness can permanently hide incompetence. It cannot. But in business, politics, advocacy, nonprofits, and public-facing leadership roles, basic decency buys a…
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Weedpress Email To South Dakota DOH, April 24, 2026
Ms. Jorgensen, Rereading this letter today. I wanted to express gratitude for the clarity and professional guidance on the laws in this state. Also, I have attached a file provided to me two years ago on state scheduling processes and laws. The laws are not up to date and have likely been adjusted from the…
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Nick Moser’s Role in the Hemp Quarters 605 Case
April 24, 2026 South Dakota’s 2024 hemp fight produced one notable federal case: Hemp Quarters 605 LLC v. Noem, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota on June 13, 2024. The plaintiff, Hemp Quarters 605 LLC, challenged House Bill 1125, South Dakota’s law restricting chemically derived hemp cannabinoids. Yankton attorney…
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South Dakota Finally Decides Free Speech Should Not Be Bankrupted
April 17, 2026 For years, South Dakota had a hole in its legal architecture that should have embarrassed any state claiming to respect free speech. If someone with money, status, or institutional backing wanted to punish a critic, a journalist, a blogger, or an activist, the process itself could become the weapon. Even a weak…
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 