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.
Tainted Dreams: Colorado Kicks Out Midnight Drops
Colorado regulators just banned Midnight Drops after reports linked the cannabis sleep aid to liver injuries. Nuka Enterprises and affiliates were fined $400,000 and booted from the state, but loopholes may allow their return. This is not about the plant. It is about corporate shortcuts, weak oversight, and the way scandals weaponize prohibitionist narratives against cannabis culture.
Bullshit Studies that Keep Cannabis Criminalized
For decades, junk science has fueled cannabis prohibition, from bogus chromosome scares to today’s clickbait about weed causing diabetes. Despite billions in tax revenue and no overdose deaths, scare studies dominate headlines while real-world data proves otherwise. This piece exposes how research funding, media bias, and political agendas keep cannabis criminalized despite all evidence.
Reefer Report Card: The Week in Weed, Rated September 20, 2025 – Vol. 15
Reefer Report Card Vol. 15 breaks down the week in cannabis. Texas raised age limits on hemp THC, California cut taxes to stop the bleeding, Ohio sales surged while bans held firm, Germany’s scientists pushed for oversight, and the White House talked rescheduling without action.
Cannabis Tax Relief Comes Too Late in California
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.
Half-Billion in Revenue, Zero Relief for Growers
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.