Marijuana

A pile of trash is visible between wooden posts, with rows of barbed wire fencing it off in a wooded area. Trash is scattered all over the forest floor, with a row of wooden posts in the background making a makeshift fence.

Water

‘Little death bombs’: Illegal cannabis farms poison California’s forests. Who’s cleaning them up?

Even after legalization, illicit cannabis grows continue to pollute California’s public lands. And the contamination, new research shows, lingers.

By

Rachel Becker

• February 9, 2026

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies at a crime scene in Sacramento on Feb. 28, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, Sipa USA via Reuters

Justice

Cops have to treat marijuana in your car differently after new California Supreme Court ruling

If you can't easily consume it, having marijuana in your car does not give California police the right to search the vehicle.

By

Nigel Duara

• January 29, 2026

Workers harvest a fresh crop of marijuana at the Loving Kindness Farms in Los Angeles on May 08, 2020. AP Photo/Richard Vogel

Politics

California’s marijuana industry gets a break under new law suspending tax hike

California's legal weed industry is still overshadowed by the larger black market. A new state law gives businesses a break by delaying a tax increase.

By

Nadia Lathan

• September 23, 2025

Justice

California cannabis companies hoped Trump would be an ally. Then the raids happened

Federal agents arrested hundreds of workers after immigration sweeps at a California cannabis company, stoking fears that President Trump might target the marijuana industry.

By

Alexei Koseff

• July 19, 2025

A grower waters cannabis plants at the Pure Beauty growing site in Sacramento on Jan. 26, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Politics

‘This tax could kill this industry.’ California cannabis operators brace for increase

California’s excise tax on legal weed is increasing, despite efforts to keep it lower to help the struggling industry. Lawmakers left it out of the state budget they passed Monday.

By

Alexei Koseff

• July 1, 2025

People sit on chairs and tables set up outside a restaurant in a busy area of downtown San Diego.

Economy

Cannabis cafes and entertainment zones among new laws for 2025

The state is allowing more on-street alcohol sales and food in cannabis lounges. Supporters say the laws will boost downtown economies.

By

CalMatters Staff

• December 16, 2024

Cannabis plants at the Pure Beauty growing site in Sacramento on Jan. 26, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Water

Cannabis grower to pay $750,000 for violating state water, wildlife regulations

State officials said a Humboldt County cannabis operation took water from streams and damaged wetlands for years without authorization. The owner called the fine extreme and unfair but agreed to pay and restore wetlands.

By

Rachel Becker

• February 2, 2024

Cannabis products on display at A Therapeutic Alternative in Sacramento on July 19, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Economy

California new laws for 2024: Employees get protection for using cannabis

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

By

Levi Sumagaysay

• December 27, 2023

A grower tends to cannabis plants at the Pure Beauty growing site in Sacramento on Jan. 26, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Commentary

California wants to rollback environmental rules for cannabis. That won’t help ailing growers

California's environmental regulations are not to blame for the struggles of small pot farmers. County permitting decisions, the local political climate, and the inability of law enforcement to eradicate illicit cultivation have been much bigger hurdles.

By Rosalie Liccardo Pacula and Michael Sutton • November 14, 2023

Bonnie Metcalf meditates at her Sacramento home on July 20, 2023. Metcalf suffers from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease, and takes cannabis products to ease the pain. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Politics

Medical cannabis paved the way for legalization in California. Now patients feel left behind

Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who say the commercial market created by Proposition 64 in 2016 isn’t meeting their needs.

By

Alexei Koseff

• August 1, 2023