Filed under: Weekly Burn
The industry got whiplash this week. A national paper pumped paranoia for clicks, a beach town tried to zone out legalization, and a Boston sheriff kept drowning in his own scandal. Let’s grade the chaos and see where the smoke settled.
MEDIA PANIC AWARD
The Guardian Stokes Cannabis Paranoia
The Guardian is back on its reefer madness beat, this time pushing a study claiming people who use cannabis to self-medicate have a higher risk of paranoia than those who use it for fun. The fine print reveals that the entire study is based on an online survey of 3,389 people who self-reported their use, symptoms, and intentions. No clinical diagnosis, no peer-reviewed findings, just shaky math dressed up like science. What the public gets is fear. What prohibitionists get is ammo. What the industry gets is another reminder that the mainstream media will happily sell out patients to keep clicks flowing.
Grade: F
LOCAL TRAINWRECK
Boston Sheriff Steps Away While the Case Keeps Moving
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins finally took medical leave after being indicted on two counts of extortion under color of official right. Prosecutors allege that Tompkins used his position to pressure a cannabis company executive into handing over $50,000 in pre IPO stock, tied to a licensing partnership with his department. When the stock collapsed, he demanded the money back and got it, disguised as reimbursements labeled as company expenses. Tompkins pleaded not guilty and remains formally on the job while Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne covers his duties. Each charge carries a potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Grade: F
LOCAL TRAINWRECK
Southampton Turns Zoning Into a Wall Against Legal Weed
Brown Budda won a retail license in 2022, but Southampton has done everything it can to make sure the store never opens. Officials have rewritten zoning rules, blocked proposed locations, and stalled applications under the guise of process, while residents keep buying from the same underground dealers that legalization was supposed to replace. The lawsuit now moving through the courts argues the town is violating the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act and illegally sabotaging a licensed operator. This is how small towns kill reform and bankrupt businesses while pretending to follow the rules.
Grade: F
PATIENT RIGHTS WATCH
Veterans Still Can Lose VA Benefits for State Legal Cannabis Use
Despite recent court wins and social equity pushes, federal policy has not budged enough for veterans. A bill introduced this year, the Veterans Equal Access Act, would prohibit the VA from denying benefits to any veteran participating in a state-approved medical cannabis program. It would also require VA providers to document and discuss cannabis use in medical records. The bill is sitting in the House Veterans Affairs Committee with no action taken. For veterans legally using cannabis to manage chronic pain or PTSD, access is still limited, and so are their rights.
Grade: D
FINAL GRADE: D–
One court win is not enough to clean up a week where media fear-mongering, small-town sabotage, and a Boston power player’s corruption took center stage. Progress is still possible, but this week proved again that the system prefers chaos to clarity.
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