Law Enforcement

Signatures for a ballot initiative to decriminalize cannabis and ban no-knock raids have been submitted to the city of Austin, Texas.

Researchers noted significant increases in the clearance rate for violent crimes following the legalization of cannabis in Oregon, relative to non-legalized states.

Plymouth, Connecticut Police Capt. Ed Benecchi called for opening adult-use cannabis dispensaries “as soon as possible” in the name of public safety after at least 39 overdoses in the state were linked to fentanyl-laced cannabis.

Illinois Judge Daniel P. Dalton ruled that the odor of unburnt cannabis is not probable cause for police to conduct a warrantless search during traffic stops.

Black people in Vermont are 14 times more likely to be defendants in felony drug cases than white people despite national data showing that Black people and white people use and sell drugs at similar rates.

A Republican-led cannabis legalization effort is aiming to federally deschedule cannabis and expunge some nonviolent cannabis crimes but stops short of social equity considerations.

Dallas County, Texas stopped prosecuting first-offense, misdemeanor cannabis cases, resulting in an overall decrease of 31%, but Black people still make up the majority of cases referred to the District Attorney’s office.

A recently surfaced letter by a high-ranking DEA official may have hinted that the agency considers delta-8 THC products synthesized from hemp extracts to be federally legal.

Federal authorities are accusing several sheriff’s deputies and a prosecutor in Maine of aiding an illegal cannabis operation.

The San Bernardino, California Sheriff’s Department has seized more than 60,000 cannabis plants, 9,000 pounds of processed cannabis, and destroyed 319 greenhouses over the last two weeks as part of “Operation Hammer Strike.”

A cannabis cash transport company is seeking the return of $166,000 that was seized by police in partnership with the DEA who said they had detected a “marijuana odor.”

Cannabis cultivation-related cases are down 67.5% this year in New York after lawmakers approved legalization in March.

The DEA has proposed massively increasing the production of research-grade cannabis and psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA next year.

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office dropped or reduced 604 cannabis charges on Tuesday as per California’s cannabis legalization law.

A Singaporean man is set to be hanged for importing 1 kilogram of cannabis from Malaysia into Singapore in 2018.

German police unions voiced opposition to national cannabis legalization following election victories by Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Free Democrats, all of which support the reforms.

South Carolina Assistant Attorney General David S. Jones said that Delta-8 THC — or any other form of hemp-derived THC — is not legal under the state’s hemp law.

Custom and border officials have seized nearly 15,000 pounds of cannabis at the Canada-U.S. Michigan border this year.

The FBI’s latest stats show a 36% drop nationwide in cannabis-related arrests from 2019 to 2020.

A Tennessee hemp farm recently hosted an educational workshop for law enforcement from around the state to learn about CBD products and the legal differences between hemp and cannabis.

The Delaware Supreme Court last week ruled that cannabis odor during a traffic stop by itself is not enough to trigger probable cause for arrest.

Cannabis arrests have fallen more than 90% in the Richmond, Virginia area since the state’s legalization law took effect on July 1.

There were just eight cannabis-related arrests in New York City during the second quarter of 2021, representing a 95% decrease in arrests from the year prior.

Richard Wershe Jr., aka “White Boy Rick,” who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for cocaine possession, is launching his own cannabis brand called “The 8th.”