Category: Advocacy & Culture

Tax First, Ask Later: Michigan’s Weed War

Governor Gretchen Whitmer stands before the Michigan state seal and an American flag, wearing a red leather jacket and a serious expression. The text reads: “Policy Fiction Tax First, Ask Later. Michigan’s Weed War.” The image critiques Michigan’s cannabis taxation and policy stance. Pot Culture Magazine branding, website, and ©2025PotCultureMagazine/ArtDept appear along the bottom.

Michigan’s new 24 percent wholesale cannabis tax is being sold as a road repair plan but looks more like a cash grab. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s law faces a constitutional challenge from the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, while NORML’s Paul Armentano warns that greedy taxation drives consumers back underground and destroys legal markets that voters fought to build. The weed war is back this time in a budget.

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The State That Fears Weed More Than Truth

A somber veteran draped in an American flag stands outside a government building at sunset, head bowed in reflection. The headline reads “The State That Fears Weed More Than Truth,” with a copper header labeled “Policy & Punishment.” The Pot Culture Magazine logo and website, PotCultureMagazine.com, appear at the bottom along with the copyright ©2025PotCultureMagazine/ArtDept.

Idaho clings to prohibition while veterans beg for relief. Kind Idaho fights to decriminalize a plant that heals, while lawmaker Bruce Skaug pushes laws that jail the sick and silence voters. This is not policy, it is punishment. The question is simple: Does Idaho fear weed more than truth?

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How Not to Get Busted This Halloween

A person wearing a Ghostface mask from Scream stands on a dimly lit porch at night, holding an orange pumpkin-shaped trick-or-treat bag. The headline reads: “HOW NOT TO GET BUSTED THIS HALLOWEEN” in bold orange letters against a dark background. Branding appears along the bottom: PotCultureMagazine.com and ©2025PotCultureMagazine/ArtDept with the Pot Culture Magazine logo. The lighting creates an eerie, cinematic Halloween feel.

Halloween is the system’s favorite setup. Cops cruise for chaos while cities twist cannabis freedom into new traps. This Pot Culture Magazine field manual cuts through fake reform with real-world survival moves. Know your rights, guard your stash, film the truth, and keep your freedom when the lights flash blue.

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The Ones Who Built It: Chris Simunek and the Lost Soul of Cannabis Journalism

Chris Simunek sits indoors in front of a deep red wall decorated with painted zebras. He has short dark hair and wears a dark jacket over a white shirt. The lighting is dim and warm, giving the scene a moody, artistic tone. A watermark in the corner reads “Image by: Rebekah Harris

In Part Two of our exclusive interview with former High Times Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Simunek, the conversation turns raw. From outlaw growers and underground legends to lost friends and a culture gutted by greed, Simunek reflects on the rise and fall of cannabis journalism. This is not nostalgia. This is what the movement lost when legalization cashed in.

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How Hemp Got Free but Shackled

Promotional graphic for Pot Culture Magazine with the headline “How Hemp Got Free But Shackled.” The background features a hemp leaf secured inside a pair of metal handcuffs resting on a document labeled “Controlled Substances Act.” The words “PotCultureMagazine.com” and the Pot Culture Magazine logo appear at the bottom.

Hemp may have been ripped from the Controlled Substances Act in 2018, but freedom was only on paper. Farmers are still shackled by THC math, the DEA’s shadow rules, and FDA’s silence on CBD. The loopholes gave rise to delta-8 and other lab-born cannabinoids, sparking a new prohibition panic. The truth is simple: hemp didn’t escape the drug war, it just exposed the absurdity of it all.

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Cannabis Tax Relief Comes Too Late in California

Close-up of cannabis buds in front of the California state flag with bold text reading “Cannabis Tax Relief Comes Too Late in California.” The Pot Culture Magazine logo appears at the bottom right, with the copyright ©2025PotCultureMagazine/ArtDept.

California lawmakers finally moved to ease the crushing cannabis excise tax, but after years of bleeding growers dry, is it reform or just window dressing? Pot Culture Magazine digs into the numbers, the damage, and the politics behind the belated rollback.

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