420 FILE--In the struggle to address rising levels of opioid misuse and mortality, an unlikely ally has emerged: marijuana.

The relationship between cannabis and opioid use is among of the best-documented aspects of marijuana policy. In short, the science demonstrates that marijuana is a relatively safe and effective pain reliever — and that patients with legal access to it often reduce their use of conventional opiates.

420 FILE--California Senator and Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris has admitted she smoked pot in her past, and says she is "absolutely in favor of legalizing marijuana," harkening to her half-Jamaican heritage and citing the mass incarceration resulting from cannabis prohibition, particularly of young black men.

420 FILE--In Napa and Sonoma, tour bus operators ferry oenophiles between tasting rooms and vineyards. In Hollywood and environs, they shepherd the stars-truck past the homes of the rich and famous.

420 FILE-- A little-noticed looming deadline will make nonprofit collectives and cooperatives dispensing cannabis to medical patients illegal in California starting on January 9, 2019. 

420 FILE--When browsing cannabis strains or purchasing cannabis at a shop, you may notice strains are commonly broken up into two distinct groups: indica and sativa. Most consumers have used these two cannabis types as a touchstone for predicting effects:

420 FILE--Joined by co-sponsor Sen. Nancy Skinner (Berkeley), Senator Scott Wiener (San Francisco) announced he will re-introduce his bill to protect cannabis compassion programs in California at a press conference at the SPARC dispensary in SF.

420 FILE--It’s just cannabis, right? How important can something affectionately referred to as “wacky-tabbacky” be? In my case, very.

420 FILE--The legalization of marijuana is a more mainstream issue now than it has ever been.

LET’S TALK CANNABIS--With Christmas around the corner giving weed as a gift has now legally opened up as an option. 

420 FILE--Gavin Newsom, a cannabis supporter who pushed for the passage of Prop. 64 to legalize adult recreational use in California, will be the new governor of the state.

420 FILE--The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) has raided 254 illegal cannabis grows in the Golden State this year — less than half as many than they busted in 2017.

420 FILE--Cannabis consumers soon should be able to shop at licensed stores in California without worrying about whether products on the shelves are laced with pesticides and other contaminants often found in black-market weed.

420 FILE--Just weeks after a California measure legalizing the use of recreational marijuana went into effect, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced on Wednesday that the city will wipe clean the records of thousands of individuals who have been charged with marijuana-related misdemeanors and felonies over the past several decades.

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--The County of Los Angeles has made public input a priority as it grapples with the complicated and historic work of developing regulations for newly legalized cannabis in the unincorporated areas of the county.

POLICING THE POLICE-News reports last week suggest the city of Oakland may be ready to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the teenage woman at the heart of a sex-abuse scandal that rocked Oakland’s and other nearby police departments since 2015. 

All things considered, the city is fortunate. The reported settlement is just under $1 million, far below the $66 million she had originally sought. 

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--Dig deep enough into any of California’s biggest problems, and you’ll eventually hit upon a common villain: our court system.