Featured Analysis
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A New Legal Standard Emerges: How HHS’s Two-Part Test Is Reshaping DEA Drug Scheduling
Why the HHS Two-Part Test Is Now Influencing DEA Scheduling Decisions By Jason Karimi The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) has long required that a drug must have a “currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” before it can be placed outside of Schedule I. For decades, that determination was interpreted by the…
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South Dakota Leaves Medical Marijuana Patients as Federal Criminals: Lawsuit Being Filed Over Refusal to Seek Federal Exemption
The following is a work in progress. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTHERN DIVISION Jason Karimi, Plaintiff, v. State of South Dakota; South Dakota Department of Health; South Dakota Medical Marijuana Oversight Committee; [Director], in his/her official capacity; Defendants. Case No. ___________ COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF I. INTRODUCTION 1. This…
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Petition: South Dakota Law Now Makes Schedule I Cannabis Classification Legally Impossible
The following is a work in progress. Draft of filing that asks Department of Health to acknowledge that medical cannabis laws contradict Schedule I definition. Update 2-1: I realized I was going about this all wrong. The following isn’t per se incorrect but there’s a much simpler stronger argument the court will prefer. I will…
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State Board Warns: Iowa Cannabis Users Break Federal Law
State Board Warns: Iowa Cannabis Users Break Federal Law Iowa’s medical cannabis program authorizes patient use at the state level but remains at odds with federal laws. Despite state authorization, Iowa’s medical cannabis program remains illegal under federal law, leading to ongoing legal risk and public safety implications — and lawmakers still haven’t acted on…
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Marijuana Is Still Federally Illegal — And the Fix Already Exists in Federal Law
Executive Summary Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. State legalization has expanded rapidly, but federal law has not changed. State cannabis systems now operate on enforcement tolerance rather than legal authorization, creating escalating compliance failures nationwide. However, Congress already created a lawful solution — and states are not using it. The Structural…
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The Federal Marijuana Contradiction Is Now Structurally Unsustainable
For more than a decade, marijuana policy in the United States has existed in a legal twilight zone. State legalization expanded rapidly, political rhetoric normalized cannabis, and entire industries were built on the assumption that federal reform was “inevitable.” But that inevitability never arrived. Instead, federal law never moved — and now the contradiction is…
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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Advisory Board Votes No On Alzheimer’s Petition, But Yes On PTSD And Other Petitions
Alzheimer’s at this point will not be added to the program. Ignoring science, Peter Komendowski, the dude who makes a living off of lying and denying access to government, told the Board today that patients once denied marijuana should not abuse due process and file repeat petitions with the board. Who does he think he…
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Iowa Medical Cannabis Advisory Board Votes Yes To PTSD, Intellectual Disability, No To Opiate Use Disorder
Two out of three petitions today passed. Here’s some of the initial details. You’ll see it on the mainstream news tonight as well most likely. The “no” vote was unanimous concerning opioid use disorder. WeedPress: After Passing PTSD, Iowa Advisory Board Votes 5 – 1 To Add Intellectual Disability With Aggression And/Or Self-Injury Iowa Advisory…
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After Passing PTSD, Iowa Advisory Board Votes 5 – 1 To Add Intellectual Disability With Aggression And/Or Self-Injury
The Board of Medicine will now take up the petition as the next procedural step. Opioid Use Disorder is now being discussed. Here’s today’s Board agenda. See also: Iowa Advisory Board Votes To Pass PTSD, But Now Another Advisory Board Has To Approve It Too
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Iowa Advisory Board Votes To Pass PTSD, But Now Another Advisory Board Has To Approve It Too
The Board isn’t that coy, they know they are a target for being relegislated out of existence since committing mutiny against the Iowa Legislature, and we shouldn’t cut corners. I predicted the Board would vote down PTSD, and am pleasantly surprised this advanced. It doesn’t make sense not to pass it from a freedom point…
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Davenport’s Two Bridges Lead Iowans To Legal Cannabis Selling Towns In Nearby Illinois. How That Might Effect Cannabis Use Rates.
From the Quad-City Times — Moline approves developing zoning regulations for cannabis businesses: “Alderman Dick Potter, 4th Ward, said the legalization of cannabis is long overdue.” It’s a boring article where councilmen dicker and worry about social costs of freedom and liberty from a completely uninformed and blatantly oblivious point of view. Interesting point…
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Iowa Public Radio: Some Pregnant Women Use Weed For Morning Sickness But…
…FDA Cautions Against It (click link for Iowa Public Radio story on cannabis use by pregnant women). Studies show more women in the US are using cannabis during pregnancy. In 2009, when I was first becoming an activist, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy heard testimony on medical cannabis users in Jamaica who were pregnant. The…
Current Events
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This Week In Stupidity: Jamaica Iowa “Marijuana Mayor” BUSTED At 420 PM For 18 Plant Cannabis Cartel Conspiracy To Take Over The World!!!!
Sorry. I thought it was 2002 so the headline was trying to scare the shit out of you. Meanwhile two tanks of gas away, police are partying it up with their citizens instead of ruining families and careers while claiming “I’m so surprised:” For what appears to be a substantial amount of marijuana this small…
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Demand for CBD “Exploding” — And The Legislature Is Not Listening
An Editorial From The Messenger : The demand for CBD is exploding in an age of anxiety, and because of the fear of the real damage that’s been done by opioids and other drugs. We understand, somewhat, the caution that is being exhibited. There is, as a New York Times writer put it, “a paucity…
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Discourse Concerning Marijuana Patients And Gun Rights
Jeremy Stickle Do you really think gun control means taking every single gun away from every single person in the country? I want a serious answer. I think medical marijuana patients shouldn’t have their guns seized. That’s unconstitutional. Have you read the second amendment? · Commented on by Jason Karimi · 5w Jeremy Stickle Answer…
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Ten Years Of Advocacy Later, IP4MM Has Accomplished The Mission
Iowa Patients for Medical Marijuana Admin · Published by Jason Karimi · 17 mins This group is no longer active as we have accomplished our mission of getting Iowa to make a list of doctors to certify conditions. If you need a doctor to certify your condition follow these instructions. Step 1: Call Trevor at…
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Idea: Ask Rep Cindy Axne To Introduce CBD Bill To Protect Iowans, Both Law Enforcement, And Patients (Aren’t Law Enforcement Patients too??? PTSD?)
She can also get us a bill to offer important mandated regulations at the state level now that the feds have cleared the way for farmers to grow hemp here in Iowa. I have not talked with her about it, but she’s on the ag committee…if not her, find someone else? From Bleeding Heartland: Newly-elected…
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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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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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…
Patient Perspectives
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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…
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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…
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 