The golden state legalised marijuana production in 2016, but strict curbs have led to a thriving black market. Its hub is in Siskiyou county, where the environmental damage is clear to see
In the shadow of Mount Shasta in northern California, a sea of makeshift greenhouses and plywood huts sprawls between the conifer trees of the high desert. From the air, many of the polytunnels look in bad shape, their plastic covers torn by the wind to reveal what’s inside: hundreds of cannabis plants packet tightly together, their distinctive green leaves easily identifiable against the volcanic soil.
This remote area of Siskiyou county is known for its goldrush history, black bears and returning grey wolves, but in the last few years it has also become a hub for California’s parallel market in cannabis production. More than 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of illicit cannabis farms cover the Republic-leaning county, which voted not to legalise commercial farming despite the statewide vote for legalisation in November 2016.
Germany recently became the first country to legalize cannabis in the European Union, which is noteworthy in that Europe is usually the trendsetter, and yet Canada legalized recreational cannabis more than five years ago. Read More
Regular drug use – from caffeine to psychedelics – has become a fundamental part of modern life. A first-person Guardian US series explores America’s shifting relationship with mind-altering substances
There are plenty of fanciful, far-out theories of how the whole of civilization emerged from drug use – like the theory that the consumption of proto-LSD in ancient Greek cults catalyzed modern philosophy; or the theory that various religious traditions have their roots in revelations occasioned by the body processing stores of endogenous DMT; or the theory that the evolution of Homo erectus into Homo sapiens, and the corresponding emergence of consciousness as a phenomenon,was driven, some hundred thousand years ago, by the consumption of psychedelic mushrooms.
But you don’t need to delve that deep into the nether regions of the psychedelic dark web to believe that the world as we know it – where we think and feel and transact business and eat and sleep and read the newspaper – is built, at a fundamental, inextricable level, on a drug. That drug is caffeine.
When the pandemic came, I moved back in with my parents in Los Angeles. It was extremely boring. One night we had completely run out of things to do so they decided to go to a local dispensary and pick up. Obviously weed is legal in California, and they’d never tried it before, so they were like: “Well, why not!”
They came back with some pre-rolled joints, which I found really endearing. I come from a Reform Jewish California family, so it almost felt cultural for all of us to be smoking weed together. It’s what I imagine Seth Rogen does when he goes home to visit his parents.
Photographer Dougie Wallace has been looking at the impact of the decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand, from Khaosan Road to the beach resorts, such as Krabi and Phuket, that attract tourists
The decriminalisation of cannabis in Thailand in June 2022 has led to an explosion in marijuana shops across the country – especially in its tourist areas. It is sold at trendy dispensaries in Bangkok, at beachside bars across resort islands and even on river cruises. On bustling streets, green leaf logos glow in neon above shop fronts, and small stalls, set up with rows of glass jars, dot the pavement.
Europol and its associates have arrested 9 people in conjunction with a cannabis investment scam known as “JuicyFields”.
The suspects used social media to lure investors to their website. There they found information about a “golden opportunity” to invest in the cultivation, harvesting and distribution of cannabis plants to be used for medicinal purposes.
Taken from the JuicyFields website:
Grow cannabis. It’s profitable! Become a potpreneur and benefit from the booming cannabis industry. Be among the first to join the movement.
The scheme looked like a crowdsourcing scheme with a minimal investment of € 50, and played on recent discussions in Europe to liberalize cannabis laws following the example of the United States and Canada. Many European countries such as the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Portugal have decriminalized possession of cannabis.
As we often see with these kinds of changes in regulatory frameworks, cybercriminals are the first to spot a window of opportunity and advertise with investment opportunities, promising a high return on low-risk investments.
From a JuicyFields whitepaper:
“21 states in the US have already legalised the adult use of marijuana for recreational purposes and this number continues to grow. Indeed, the U.S., Canada, and the soon-to-be regulated markets of the European Union are spearheading this revolution with unprecedented swiftness. However, the pent-up-demand for such regulationdoesn’t necessarily translate into effective deployment.”
To be one of the first investors in this growth market might have seemed just the thing to invest in for some. The scammers promised to connect investors with producers of medical cannabis. Europol stated:
“Upon the purchase of a cannabis plant, the platform assured investors – also referred to as e-growers – they could soon collect high profits from the sale of marijuana to authorized buyers. While the company pledged annual returns of 100 percent or more, they did not reveal exactly how they would accomplish this, let alone be able to guarantee it.”
The scheme was set up as a Ponzi scheme, which means the scammers paid early investors their return with the money they received from later adaptors.
So, for example, the first-time investor would deposit € 50 and receive a pay-out doubling their money soon after. Motivated by such quick financial gains, many investors would raise the stakes and invest hundreds, thousands, or in many cases even tens of thousands of euros. But that doesn’t mean the scammers forget to pocket the largest part themselves.
During the investigation and on action day, law enforcement seized or froze € 4,700,000 in bank accounts, € 1,515,000 in cryptocurrencies, € 106,000 in cash and € 2,600,000 in real estate assets, which amounts to roughly $ 9.5 Million in total. This came from 186,000 people who transferred funds into the scheme between early 2020 to July 2022.
One of the primary targets in this investigation was a Russian national residing in the Dominican Republic, suspected to be one of the main organizers of the fraudulent scheme.
Don’t fall for scams
Stick with safe investments, it’s easier said than done. But there are a few things you might want to avoid:
Rushing into an investment. Scammers want you to act urgently, so you spend less time thinking.
Skipping the fine print. Not knowing what it says in the fine print can turn out to be catastrophic.
Acting on cold calls. Treat calls, texts, mails, and other advice out the blue with extreme caution.
Judging a book by its cover. Investment scams are profitable and they can afford to look good.
Still not convinced? I have this piece of land on Venus, that I would be willing to part with for the right price. But you will need to act fast.
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