Featured Analysis
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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…
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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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…
Science
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Joint Effects: A Pilot Investigation of the Impact of Bipolar Disorder and Marijuana Use on Cognitive Function and Mood.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27275781 Advanced Help Result Filters Format: Abstract Send to PLoS One. 2016 Jun 8;11(6):e0157060. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157060. eCollection 2016. Joint Effects: A Pilot Investigation of the Impact of Bipolar Disorder and Marijuana Use on Cognitive Function and Mood. Sagar KA1,2, Dahlgren MK1,3, Racine MT1, Dreman MW1, Olson DP1,2, Gruber SA1,2. Author information Cited by 3 PubMed…
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Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia
Title: Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia Author: F M Leweke, D Piomelli, F Pahlisch, D Muhl, C W Gerth et al. Publication: Translational Psychiatry Publisher: Springer Nature Date: Mar 20, 2012 Copyright © 2012, Springer Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/tp201215 Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia F M…
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Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Adjunctive Therapy in Schizophrenia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17030325 Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Adjunctive Therapy in Schizophrenia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial Philip McGuire , F.R.C.Psych., F.Med.Sci., Philip Robson , M.R.C.P., F.R.C.Psych., Wieslaw Jerzy Cubala , M.D., Ph.D., Daniel Vasile , M.D., Ph.D., Paul Dugald Morrison , Ph.D., M.R.C.Psych., Rachel Barron , B.Vet.Med., M.R.C.V.S., Adam Taylor , Ph.D., Stephen Wright , F.R.C.P.(Edin), F.F.P.M.…
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Case Report: Daily CBD Administration Associated With Remission Of Schizophrenic Symptoms
Arresting the mentally ill for educated and informed self-medicating is unconscionable when they’re only seeking SAFE relief unlike those nasty pharma meds. From https://norml.org/news/2018/12/20/case-report-daily-cbd-administration-associated-with-remission-of-schizophrenic-symptoms Thursday, 20 December 2018 Leipzig, Germany: The adjunctive use of cannabidiol is associated with a remission in schizophrenic symptoms in a patient previously unresponsive to conventional treatment, according to a case…
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Cannabinoids in bipolar affective disorder: a review and discussion of their therapeutic potential (2005
ashton 2005 cannabis j psychopharm Download at the above PDF link Cannabinoids in bipolar affective disorder: a review and discussion of their therapeutic potential C. H. Ashton Department of Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. P. B. Moore Department of Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Royal…
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![Part 2: Transcript from Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board Hearing August 3rd 2018 Ankeny Iowa [TRANSCRIPT]](https://weedpress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/iowa-patients-for-medical-marijuana.jpg?w=720)
Part 2: Transcript from Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board Hearing August 3rd 2018 Ankeny Iowa [TRANSCRIPT]
Word count: 21,732 words. See part 1 of this transcript here: https://weedpress.wordpress.com/2018/12/10/transcript-from-medical-cannabidiol-advisory-board-hearing-august-3rd-2018-ankeny-iowa-transcript/ Audio courtesy of Iowans for Medical Marijuana, retrieved from https://www.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/Iowa/MCAB_2018_08_03_2 Note: This is a very much unpolished transcript. This will be reviewed and clarified by others later on when we have more time. For now, the information is so important, and…
Current Events
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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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Who to Learn From—and Who to Avoid—When You Care About Truth and Stability
Who to Learn From—and Who to Avoid—When You Care About Truth and Stability By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 2026 “Cannabis is not the subject. It’s the stress test. The subject is constitutional process.” – Jason Karimi “Don’t waste time defending the past. Leadership is about providing continuously to make people’s lives easier. Talk…
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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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There Is No Such Thing as “Good Trouble.” There Is Only Trouble.
There Is No Such Thing as “Good Trouble.” There Is Only Trouble. By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 7, 2026 The phrase “good trouble” entered political vocabulary as a moral shield — a way to bless disruption in advance. It suggests that if your cause is righteous, the consequences are purified. That framing is…
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A Review of WeedPress: Structure Over Noise in Cannabis Policy
A Review of WeedPress: Structure Over Noise in Cannabis Policy By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 8, 2026 As cannabis regulation continues to evolve at the state and federal levels, much of the media coverage surrounding it remains personality-driven, headline-focused, or politically reactive. Against that backdrop, WeedPress has occupied a different lane: documentation, structural…
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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United States v. Valrey: Federal Probation Exemption Granted For Marijuana Use
United States v. Valrey (sometimes spelled Valery or Vairey in references, but most commonly cited as Valrey), decided on February 22, 2000, by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (case number CR96-549Z or similar). It’s an unpublished district court opinion (2000 WL 692647), meaning it’s not in the official Federal Reporter…
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The Hidden Pattern Behind Religious Drug Exemptions: They’re Granted Because the Faiths Are Indigenous
The Hidden Pattern Behind Religious Drug Exemptions: They’re Granted Because the Faiths Are Indigenous By Jason Karimi | WeedPress March 16, 2026 In the decades-long “War on Drugs,” nearly every controlled substance is treated the same: illegal, dangerous, zero tolerance. Yet three high-profile exceptions keep popping up—peyote, ayahuasca, and cannabis in Rastafarian practice. Courts, legislatures,…
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The RFRA Trap: Litigation Sequencing and the Structural Limits of State Religious Freedom Claims in Drug Law
The RFRA Trap: Litigation Sequencing and the Structural Limits of State Religious Freedom Claims in Drug Law Why arguing state RFRA before federal constitutional claims can foreclose Supreme Court review — and how litigation order determines survival. By Jason Karimi | WeedPress February 15, 2026 State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts are often treated as constitutional…
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South Dakota Senate Passes Resolution Calling for Prayer — While Cannabis Policy Still in Flux
South Dakota Senate Passes Resolution Calling for Prayer — While Cannabis Policy Still in Flux By Reverend Jason Karimi | WeedPress | February 4, 2026 This week, the South Dakota Senate passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 604 — a non-binding call urging residents of the state to “return to the Lord Most High” and observe a…
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Iowa Ayahuasca Church’s Bid to Force DEA Action Argued in D.C. Circuit, Decision Pending
Judges Signal Skepticism as Court Considers Forcing DEA to Act on Long-Delayed Exemption for Iowa Church Iowa Ayahuasca Church’s Bid to Force DEA Action Argued in D.C. Circuit, Decision Pending By Jason Karimi | WeedPress | January 39, 2026 An Iowa-based religious group has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia…
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No. 2 – The Path to a Religious Cannabis Exemption: Why Medical Cannabis Systems Change the RFRA Equation
The Path to a Religious Cannabis Exemption: Why Medical Cannabis Systems Change the RFRA Equation By Jason Karimi | WeedPress Policy Series No. 2 January 27, 2026 For decades, U.S. courts have uniformly rejected claims that marijuana is protected as a religious sacrament under the First Amendment or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Ethiopian…
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 