For the Culture By The Culture. ISSN: 3064-9331.
Reefer Report Card Vol. 17 grades the latest moves in cannabis policy. California brings intoxicating hemp under regulated sales, Nebraska misses its medical deadline, a Florida court curbs police search powers, Oregon challenges the interstate commerce ban, and the FDA starts tracking hemp events. Thailand offers a rare global bright spot. Better than last week but still a mess.
A hundred years after the 1925 International Opium Convention first outlawed cannabis, prohibition still stands as one of the biggest policy failures in modern history. From colonial fear and racist propaganda to Nixon’s drug war and global treaties, the cost has been human lives, stolen freedom, and wasted truth. The plant survived. The lies didn’t.
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.
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.
Hawaii sells itself as paradise, but when it comes to cannabis, the islands are locked in prohibition. Lawmakers have teased legalization for decades, only to betray voters and bow to cops, lobbyists, and fear. With over 70% of Hawaiians supporting legalization, the hypocrisy is glaring. Paradise is freedom, yet a joint in Waikīkī can still mean court.
California just bragged about hauling in over half a billion dollars in cannabis tax revenue this year. Behind the headlines, growers are bleeding out under crushing taxes, defaults, and broken promises. The state pockets the cash while farms fold and the underground market thrives. Outlaw cannabis journalism tells the story others won’t.
