An investigation into the safety of cannabis products for sale on the shelves of licensed California pot dispensaries has revealed unsafe levels of pesticides that exceed state limits for marijuana or federal standards for tobacco products. The investigation, which was carried out by the Los Angeles Times in collaboration with cannabis news outlet WeedWeek, found that vapes and pre-rolled joints from some of California’s most popular legal weed brands were contaminated with chemicals that could cause illness or injury.

Most of the pesticides found during the investigation were present in low concentrations that risk long-term harm with repeated use of the contaminated products. However, some products tested had levels of pesticides that can potentially cause harm with a single use, particularly among susceptible individuals. Some individual products contained as many as two dozen pesticides, the investigation revealed.

“Twenty-five of 42 legal cannabis products that The Times and WeedWeek purchased from retail stores and had tested at private labs showed concentrations of pesticides either above levels the state allows or at levels that exceed federal standards for tobacco,” the Los Angeles Times wrote in its report on the investigation. “The contaminants include chemicals tied to cancer, liver failure, thyroid disease and genetic and neurologic harm to users and unborn children.”

The investigation determined that vapes from five popular cannabis brands contained pesticide levels that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for the risk of harm from a single exposure. Using such products could irritate the lungs, throat or eyes and cause other unwanted effects such as headaches, rashes, abdominal pain and diarrhea. 

The investigation’s findings are consistent with complaints filed by two independent cannabis testing laboratories over the last eight months to report contaminated products reported by other labs to be safe. According to the two labs, as many as 250,000 vapes and pre-rolls on cannabis dispensary shelves could be contaminated with pesticides.

The report notes that public records, lab testing results and interviews show that California regulators have largely failed to act on the reports of widespread contamination of cannabis products. After the complaints from the two independent labs, state regulators issued one product recall and removed three others from stores with an administrative order that remains confidential.

Josh Swider, the chief executive of Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs in San Diego, filed many of the complaints reporting the presence of pesticides in cannabis products that had been tested and certified as safe by other labs. After becoming frustrated that regulators were not doing more, he sent a summary of the complaints to California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Cannabis Control in December.

“Those failing products alone represented 150,000 packages of flower, vapes or pre-rolls for sale to unsuspecting consumers,” Swider wrote.

“The government’s responsibility does not end after writing regulation,” he added.

After Swider’s letter, regulators issued one additional product recall for pesticide contamination. The remaining products his lab identified as contaminated were allowed to remain on dispensary shelves.

None of California’s labs licensed to test cannabis products has been accredited to test for pesticides. The state also has no system in place for the routine testing of products on store shelves, despite a recommendation from the Cannabis Regulators Association for such testing.

“California is dropping the ball on enforcement where public health is concerned,” said cannabis researcher Cindy Orser, a former director of a private California cannabis testing lab.

California regulations require labs to test cannabis for 66 pesticides, a list that has not been updated since 2018 to reflect current practices in the cannabis industry. The investigation found seven pesticides not on the state list in cannabis products, despite information that the chemicals can cause harm including liver cancer and disruptions to the endocrine system. 

A vape from Stiiizy, California’s top-selling cannabis brand, contained more than 60 times the federal government’s maximum level set for cigarettes for the pesticide pymetrozine, a chemical banned by Canada, the United Kingdom and Norway. However, since the state does not require cannabis products to be tested for pymetrozine, the vape complies with California regulations.

“We adhere to all standards and limits set by the State of California, which has some of the strictest testing requirements and pesticide limits in the country,” Stiiizy President Tak Sato said in a statement emailed to the Los Angeles Times.

Regulators Decline To Respond To Investigation

The DCC declined to schedule an interview to respond to the investigation’s findings. The agency also refused to release records of internal and external communications or discussions of pesticide contamination. Additionally, the department declined to share information about its ability to test cannabis for contamination, citing the possibility that such information could be used by unscrupulous businesses determined to evade detection.

The agency refused to provide the results of pesticide tests performed by other state agencies and declined to provide safety certificates for cannabis products on dispensary shelves. The DCC also did not provide information on what action has been taken on the at least 85 complaints of contamination submitted to the agency or if any of the products had been removed from the market.

“When we receive complaints, we swiftly assess them, conduct appropriate investigations, and take appropriate action,” the agency’s press office said in an email to the Los Angeles Times.

The DCC is currently in the process of rolling out market tests for pesticides in California cannabis products. In a recent email to licensees, the agency warned cannabis companies that testing for pesticide contamination and enforcement of the state’s standards would be ramped up.

“In the coming weeks, the DCC is slated to bring additional testing capacity online to further bolster existing compliance actions and expand efforts to address pesticide contamination,” the agency wrote in its email.  These actions may include additional product embargos, voluntary and mandatory recalls, and disciplinary actions against licensees.”

Until the system is in place, however, there will still be no system for the routine safety testing of cannabis products once they make it to dispensary shelves.

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Glass bongs, money counters, a La-Z-Boy recliner and a snow cone machine were among the goods auctioned off Friday at an auction hosted by the CHP and CDTFA to raise money for unpaid taxes on cannabis businesses.

The California Department of Taxes and Fee Administration released a notice last week about the auction, held Friday, February 16 in Los Angeles. The notice said that the property to be sold had been seized from 10 cannabis businesses in the Los Angeles area, nine of which were operating illegally according to the CDTFA. One was a legal dispensary that hadn’t paid its taxes. In total, the 10 businesses owed more than $14.4 million in unpaid taxes.

“Seizing and auctioning property from cannabis businesses that evade the law is a tool to recover the taxes owed to the state,” said CDTFA Director Nick Maduros in a statement.

Public notices of sale for the seized property to be sold Friday have been issued by the CHP and they are readily available online at the CDTFA website. The list of items to be sold can be described as varied at best and bizarre at worst, given who will be selling them.

Some notable items included multiple boxes of glass bongs, speakers, refrigerators, the aforementioned snow cone machine and La-Z-Boy recliner, cameras, televisions, sandwich boards, framed art and other miscellaneous items.

Proceeds from the auction will be put towards the unpaid liabilities owed by these ten businesses. This is the first such time that California government entities have auctioned off seized items from cannabis businesses, and it certainly marks the first time the California Highway Patrol has ever sold bongs to anybody that I’m aware of. 

That said, commercial properties seized from delinquent California cannabis businesses have been auctioned off in the past. In March of 2022 the CDTFA released a notice about the auction of a property in Whitter associated with a cannabis business, accused at the time of illegal sales, which owed over $850,000 in unpaid taxes. The CDTFA said at the time they hoped to recover at least $220,000 from the sale of this property.

“Unlicensed cannabis operators not only undercut legitimate businesses, but they also cheat California communities out of revenue for vital programs,” Director Maduros said in 2022. “These businesses are not licensed under the laws approved by California voters, and many of their products are unregulated.”

California has ramped up enforcement of illegal cannabis businesses in recent years with the introduction of the Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce in late 2022. Since its creation by Governor Gavin Newsom, UCETF has seized over $317 million in unlicensed cannabis as the result of serving 218 search warrants across .

“Since its inception in late 2022, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce has hit the ground running with year-round operations that spanned from the Oregon state line all the way down to San Diego,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham. “We’ve sent a strong message that illegal operations that harm our natural resources, threaten the safety of workers, and put consumer health at risk have no place in California. While there is more work to be done, we made progress last year and I look forward to going further alongside our county, state, and federal partners.”

Since its inception, UCETF has also seized 128 firearms during raids on cannabis businesses. They have seized and eradicated 347,321 illegal cannabis plants in their history and seized over 189,000 pounds of dried cannabis bud in 2023 alone.

“California is effectively decreasing the illegal cannabis market by leveraging the strengths and knowledge of over 20 state agencies and departments alongside our local and federal partners. The UCETF’s progress in 2023 reflects California’s ongoing commitment to disrupting  and dismantling illegal cannabis activity,” stated Director Nicole Elliott of Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). “I look forward to working with all our partners in 2024 to build on this progress.”

The CDTFA and CHP auction took place at the CHP parking lot at 777 W. Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015 Friday, February 16. You can call 1-951-880-1990 for more information. Neither the CDTFA or CHP have yet indicated if they plan to auction off more bongs in the future.

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California workers who use cannabis will gain new employment protections under two laws that go into effect beginning on January 1. Under legislation passed by the California legislature last year, employers will be barred from discriminating against workers who test positive for cannabis in some drug screenings, while a separate measure passed in 2023 prohibits employers from asking employees or job candidates about their off-duty use of marijuana.

Under Assembly Bill 2188 (AB 2188), which was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, employers will no longer be able to fire or discipline employees who test positive for cannabis in a urine or hair test. The bill also applies to job applicants, who cannot be denied employment based on the results of such drug screenings. The law does not prevent employers from using other drug tests for cannabis use, including blood or saliva tests. 

The new law has exceptions for employees in the building and construction industry. The measure also exempts workers and job applicants for positions that require a federal background check or security clearance.

Newsom signed the bill last year in conjunction with other cannabis-related legislation. At the time, the governor said in a press release that “rigid bureaucracy and federal prohibition continue to pose challenges to the industry and consumers.”

Many Drug Tests Are Unreliable

Cannabis policy reform advocates have long been critical of drug screenings that rely on hair or urine samples because they can return positive results weeks after the person being tested used marijuana and do not indicate impairment at the time the sample was taken. Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (CalNORML), said that the legislation going into effect on January 1 improves the employment conditions for California’s workforce.

“Testing or threatening to test bodily fluids for cannabis metabolites has been the most common way that employers harass and discriminate against employees who lawfully use cannabis in the privacy of their own homes,” Gieringer said in a statement from the cannabis policy reform advocacy group. “These new laws will end that practice without impacting workplace safety. Numerous studies have found that workers who test positive for cannabis metabolites have no higher risk of workplace accidents.”

A separate piece of legislation passed earlier this year to clarify AB 2188, Senate Bill 700 (SB 700), amends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act to ban employers from asking job applicants about their use of cannabis while off the job. Employers are still permitted to ask job candidates about their criminal history, but they may not use information about their prior use of cannabis that is related to their criminal history unless otherwise permitted by law.

Jessica Hanson, CEO of cannabis seed company Symple Seeds, said that the new legislation is a positive step for both workers and the regulated cannabis industry. 

“These new laws represent a significant victory for California’s workers and the legal cannabis industry,” Hanson wrote in an email to High Times on Wednesday. “By limiting employer inquiries about off-duty cannabis use and banning outdated testing methods, California sends a clear message: responsible adults should not be penalized for exercising their legal rights outside the workplace. This is a welcome step towards building a fairer and more mature cannabis industry.”

The National Federation of Independent Business has characterized the new laws as one of the top five “compliance headaches” for small business owners in California for 2024. The California Chamber of Commerce expressed opposition to AB 2188 in its original form, saying the bill was a “job killer,” according to a report from public policy news site CalMatters. The business group later dropped its opposition to the legislation after lawmakers revised the bill.

Both AB 2188 and SB 700 go into effect on January 1.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom last week vetoed a bill that would have allowed cannabis cafes to offer weed, food and beverages to patrons at licensed establishments reminiscent of the famed coffee shops in Amsterdam. The measure, Assembly Bill 374 (AB 374), was passed by the California legislature last month after being introduced earlier this year by Democratic Assemblymember Matt Haney.

Under current California law, cannabis consumption lounges cannot sell freshly prepared food to their patrons. A rule change adopted in November of last year allows lounges to offer prepackaged food and beverages and for customers to bring their own freshly prepared items on a limited basis, but the businesses themselves are denied the opportunity to serve most non-infused products to their customers.

Haney’s bill would have allowed California’s cannabis consumption lounges to sell freshly prepared food and drinks and to host live entertainment events. In the Netherlands, more than 700 cannabis cafes, often referred to as coffee shops, draw 1.5 million visitors per year, according to information from Haney’s office. Allowing the state’s consumption lounges to operate under a similar business model would give the businesses new economic opportunities and could serve as a draw for tourists and locals to visit struggling downtown business districts.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others. And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music,” Haney said in a statement. “There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health, or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal. If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”

But on Saturday, Newsom vetoed AB 374, although the governor said he appreciates “the author’s intent to provide cannabis retailers with increased business opportunities and an avenue to attract new customers.” In his veto message, Newsom said he was concerned that the bill conflicted with California legislation to provide a smoke-free workplace for all workers.

“Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount. I encourage the author to address this concern in subsequent legislation,” the governor added. “For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.”

Sponsor Promises New Bill Next Year

After Newsom vetoed the bill, Haney decried the move in a statement on social media, saying that the bill is needed to help support California’s regulated cannabis industry, which continues to face challenges including high costs and competition from the state’s pervasive unlicensed operators.

“The bill was widely seen as an attempt to level the playing field for the highly taxed and regulated legal cannabis industry that is being forced to compete in California with a thriving cannabis black market,” Haney said. “The illegal sale of cannabis is extremely profitable in California with illegal sellers choosing to simply ignore costly regulations, product testing, permitting, and taxation. California’s legal cannabis sales reached $4 billion in 2020, while illegal sales are believed to have surpassed $8 billion that same year.”

Haney added that voters have already authorized smoking in the businesses covered by the bill and vowed to draft new legislation to legalize cannabis cafes in the next legislative session.

“The voters of California have already decided to legalize the smoking of cannabis in public dispensaries. AB 374 just allows businesses where smoking is already happening to sell coffee and food and hold live shows,” Haney wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “I appreciate and respect the Governor’s concerns about worker’s health. And I’m looking forward to working closely with his office and with labor leaders to make sure we get this right when I introduce the bill again next year.”

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California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce (UCETF) seized nearly 100,000 cannabis plants over the last three months, according to an announcement from the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. State officials lauded the seizures on Friday, saying that illegal weed grow sites pose a threat to consumer safety and are often associated with organized crime.

Bill Jones, chief of the Law Enforcement Division for the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), noted that the task force had focused on some of the largest unlicensed cannabis cultivation sites in California during the third quarter of 2023.

“For the last three months UCETF has been focused on larger, outdoor cannabis operations that posed a significant threat to the environment and public safety,” Jones said in a statement to the press. “Many of these illegal cannabis operations are linked to organized crime, and in addition to threatening the environment and communities, the products these operations pose a direct threat to consumer health and the stability of the legal cannabis market.”

More Than Thirty Tons Of Weed Seized

For the three months that ended on September 30, the UCETF eradicated a total of 98,054 illicit cannabis plants, down from the 120,970 plants seized in the second quarter of this year. The task force also confiscated 61,415.75 pounds of cannabis, which was nearly on par with the 66,315.01 pounds of weed seized over the previous three months. State officials noted, however, that the totals for the third quarter were achieved through the serving of 60 search warrants, a 35% reduction in the number of search warrants served in Q2.

The task force also confiscated 69 firearms during raids at unlicensed marijuana cultivation facilities between July and September, a 363% increase compared to the previous quarter. The searches during the third quarter resulted in no seizures of cash, however, while $223,809 in cash was confiscated during the preceding three months. 

“Over the past quarter, UCTEF conducted several highly coordinated operations that will disrupt the illegal supply chain and improve consumer and public safety. The task force focused on rural areas where illegal cultivators have been conducting unlicensed operations,” said Nathaniel Arnold, acting chief of Enforcement for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “These enforcement numbers represent the hard work and commitment from our multiagency teams. I applaud our officers and partner agencies who worked tirelessly to identify these clandestine operations and provide a good measure of public and consumer safety.”

The UCETF also reported that the cannabis seized as search warrants were being served last quarter has an estimated street value of $101,349,657, down nearly $8 million from the $109,277,688.94 estimate from the previous quarter.

Police estimations of the street value of seized marijuana, however, are routinely inflated and have been for years. Instead of reporting the wholesale value of the weed confiscated from large operations, law enforcement officials will often value cannabis based on the gray market price of one gram, increasing the estimate greatly but misleadingly.

“Inflating valuations of drug busts in the press” is a “fairly common tactic in law enforcement,” as Alex Kreit, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University and director of the school’s Center on Addiction Law & Policy, said in an email to Forbes in 2021.

“That’s not to say it is legitimate; I think it is incredibly misleading,” he added. “But I do believe it’s common.”

Task Force Created Last Year

The UCETF is a multi-departmental effort created through California Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022-2023 budget to target illegal cannabis operations. The task force works closely with the DCC, the CDFW, and the Homeland Security Division of the California Office of Emergency Services. The UCETF has been charged with coordinating state efforts and increasing cannabis enforcement cooperation between state, local and federal partners. 

The task force has been actively working since late summer 2022 and has been taking aggressive action in an effort to protect communities, consumers and the environment. Since its inception, the UCETF has eradicated 277,314 plants and seized 101 firearms, according to data from the task force.

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City leaders in Solvang, California on Monday punted on a decision over whether or not to permit recreational cannabis sales in their jurisdiction. 

The Santa Maria Times reports that members of the city council in Solvang, which is located about 130 miles up the coast from Los Angeles, “voted 3-2 to seek further law enforcement input before considering an update to city code that would allow recreational use cannabis sales within city limits.”

“It sounds to me that the cannabis is ubiquitous. It’s everywhere. It’s not whether we’re going to allow it. It’s allowed. It’s whether we’re going to agree to enable a retail location in our city. That’s what we’re deciding,” said city council member Elizabeth Orona, as quoted by the Santa Maria Times.

Although voters in California approved a measure in 2016 legalizing recreational cannabis use and sales in the state, Solvang opted out.

In 2018, the city council there approved an ordinance banning the sale of recreational cannabis. 

Medical cannabis, which has been legal statewide in California since voters there legalized in 1996, is permitted in Solvang. 

The city council in Solvang “adopted an ordinance [in 2018] allowing medicinal cannabis retail sales in the city to anyone holding a cannabis card,” according to the Santa Maria Times, although the “number and location of medical cannabis facilities were restricted, and requirements for operation were delineated including security measure requirements, and a local tax rate of 5% to 10%.”

Some members of the Solvang City Council objected to the delay, arguing that it is time for the city to start collecting tax revenue from cannabis sales that has been lost to neighbroing communities where recreational cannabis sales are permitted.

“I’m not a big fan of pot. I wasn’t when it was medicinal. But the voters approved this in 2016. … As long as people are going from Solvang to Lompoc to get this, then Solvang is losing out on the tax dollar,” council member Robert Clarke said, as quoted by the Santa Maria Times.

Council member Claudia Orona, meanwhile, contended that pot should not be treated differently than other vices.

“I always find it interesting that people will bring up health and safety issues with cannabis, but they never bring that up when another wine tasting room or another bar is opening,” Orona said, as quoted by the newspaper.

“This is not a matter of cannabis being available in our community. It is available widely by either people traveling to dispensaries or going on websites and apps and ordering and getting it (delivered) to home,” Orona added.

California’s legal cannabis industry has fallen on hard times, as the illicit market continues to chew into sales, leading to falling tax revenue.

In September, the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a bill intended to expand the legal cannabis market, by creating “a process for California to enter into agreements with other states to allow cannabis transactions with entities outside California.”

The governor’s office said at the time that, as part of the 2022 budget, Newsom also “signed legislation to provide tax relief to consumers and the cannabis industry; support equity businesses; strengthen enforcement tools against illegal cannabis operators; bolster worker protections; expand access to legal retail; and protect youth, environmental and public safety programs funded by cannabis tax revenue.”

“For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” said Newsom. “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the Legislature and policymakers to fully realize cannabis legalization in communities across California.”

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A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow the state’s licensed cannabis consumption lounges to sell freshly prepared foods and beverages and host live events. The measure, Assembly Bill 374 (AB 374), was introduced last week by Democratic Assembly Member Matt Haney.

Under California law, cannabis consumption lounges are not allowed to sell freshly prepared food to their patrons. A rule change adopted in November 2022 allows lounges to offer prepackaged food and beverages and for customers to bring their own freshly prepared items on a limited basis, but the businesses themselves are denied the opportunity to serve most non-infused products to their customers.

Haney’s bill would allow consumption lounges in California to sell freshly prepared food and drinks and to host live entertainment events. In the Netherlands, more than 700 cannabis cafes, often referred to as coffee shops, draw 1.5 million visitors per year, according to information from Haney’s office. Allowing the state’s consumption lounges to operate under a similar business model would give the businesses new economic opportunities and could serve as a draw for tourists and locals to visit struggling downtown business districts.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others. And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music,” Haney said in a statement. “There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health, or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal. If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”

The bill would not permit cannabis consumption lounges to sell alcoholic beverages. Additionally, Haney noted that the proposal is limited to licensed consumption lounges and does not permit other types of enterprises to enter the legal cannabis market.

“To be clear, we’re not saying that coffee shops should be allowed to sell cannabis,” Haney said. “We’re saying that cannabis shops should be allowed to sell coffee. It shouldn’t be illegal for an existing cannabis business to move away from only selling marijuana and instead have the opportunity to grow, thrive and create jobs by offering coffee or live jazz.”

Bill Offers New Opportunities For Consumption Lounges

Supporters of the legislation say that Haney’s bill would give cannabis consumption lounges opportunities to grow and serve their customers. Although he has not taken a position on the legislation, Nikesh Patel, the director of San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis, said that new sources of revenue could help businesses survive in a competitive and highly regulated industry.

“We hear from our operators that it’s a very challenging time to be in the cannabis space,” said Patel. “And some of the reasons are reduced foot traffic on the streets and higher tax burdens on cannabis businesses. There is still competition with the illicit market, and the cost of flower as a whole has gone down, and that’s had a trickle effect on the entire supply chain.”

Haney’s bill does not automatically permit cannabis consumption lounges to serve food and drink or host live events. Instead, local governments would also have to approve the change for the businesses in their jurisdictions. City leaders in West Hollywood, Palm Springs and Cathedral City have already passed such ordinances, according to Haney’s office. In San Francisco, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman plans to introduce legislation on Tuesday to allow the city’s consumption lounges to take advantage of Haney’s proposal.

“I think those (current) restrictions don’t make sense and they’re not helpful to the lounges,” Mandelman said. “And I think that in terms of making those more enjoyable spaces and building out our local cannabis industry, tourism and economic developments — for all those reasons, it makes sense to take advantage of what Assemblyman Haney is putting forward.”

Before it can become law, AB 374 must first be passed by the California Assembly and state Senate before heading to the office of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for his consideration. Although he is unsure if the governor will sign the bill if he is given the chance, Haney said that hopes Newsom will give California’s consumption lounges a new way to succeed in a challenging business environment.

“California’s small cannabis businesses are struggling,” said Haney. “Issues like over-saturation, high taxes, and the thriving black market are hurting cannabis businesses who follow the rules and pay taxes.”

“I hope that the governor, as a small-business owner himself in the past who has been involved in the hospitality industry, can now see this as an opportunity,” he added.

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California’s famed Emerald Triangle cannabis-growing region was rocked by an earthquake early Tuesday morning, leading to the deaths of two local residents and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity. The earthquake, which registered 6.4 on the Richter scale, also caused about a dozen injuries and damaged homes and businesses in the region. 

The ground started shaking at 2:34 a.m., with the temblor centered near the town of Ferndale, a community about 210 miles northwest of San Francisco in Humboldt County. The epicenter of the quake was offshore, about 10 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Humboldt County, along with neighboring Trinity and Mendocino Counties, make up California’s infamous Emerald Triangle, where for decades cannabis farmers have grown top-shelf marijuana famous around the world. Johnny Casali of Huckleberry Hills Farm reported that his legacy cannabis operation in southern Humboldt County lost electricity during the power outage but did not suffer any damage from the shaking. Chris Anderson of Redwood Roots said that southern Humboldt County was not hit very hard by the quake, but he had heard reports of broken water mains and homes being knocked off their foundations in the central part of the county.

More Than 70,000 Lose Power

Damage to buildings and infrastructure is still being assessed throughout the region. Approximately 72,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers reportedly lost power as a result of the earthquake. By late Tuesday, the utility company had restored power to about 40,000 customers and expected electrical service would be restored for the remaining homes and businesses without power within 24 hours. The outage involved a main transmission line into the area and repairs were slowed by rain that prevented a helicopter from assessing damage sustained by the line.

In a news flash, the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services reported that “two individuals have died as a result of medical emergencies occurring during and/or just following the earthquake.” The dead include an 83-year-old and a 72-year-old, according to media reports. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported that at least 11 people were injured during the quake. Injuries sustained in the temblor included a hip fracture and a head injury, according to media reports.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Humboldt County on Tuesday evening. Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, noted that two hospitals in the area had lost power but were running on generators. Ferguson also said that damage in the area appeared to be minimal considering the strength of the earthquake.

Residents in the Emerald Triangle are used to the relatively frequent earthquakes. But some said that Tuesday’s shaking was more violent than the rolling motion of many of the region’s tremors.

“You could see the floor and walls shaking,” Araceli Huerta told the Associated Press. “It sounded like a freight train was going through my house.”

Rio Dell Bears Brunt Of Temblor

Damage from the quake was reported in Ferndale, Rio Dell and Fortuna, Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said in a press conference in Sacramento. Damage was most extensive in Rio Dell, where at least 15 homes in the community of 3,000 were deemed uninhabitable. Another 18 homes sustained moderate damage, officials reported after a partial assessment of the area. Approximately 30 people have been displaced by the damage, but officials warned that number could climb to as high as 150 after a full assessment of the impact of the earthquake is completed.

Rio Dell’s water system was shut down and will remain out of operation for up to two days while leaks in the vital infrastructure are repaired. The local firehouse was distributing drinking water, and portable toilets were set up outside City Hall for area residents to use.

Local resident Cassondra Stoner said that she was shaken awake by Tuesday’s quake.

“It felt like my roof was coming down,” Stoner said. “The only thing I could think about was, ‘Get the freaking kids.’”

Other than the emotional shock of the early morning quake, Stoner’s family was not harmed. But when she arrived for work at a local retail store, ceiling tiles had fallen, and shelves had toppled over, strewing merchandise across the floor.

The earthquake occurred in an area known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet off northern California’s Pacific coast.

“We’re in this moment of geologic time where the most exciting, dynamic area of California happens to be Humboldt County and the adjacent offshore area,” Lori Dengler, professor emeritus of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt, told reporters.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed several bills into law designed to “strengthen California’s cannabis laws, expand the legal cannabis market and redress the harms of cannabis prohibition.”

One of those measures, per local news station ABC10, will protect “workers from employment discrimination based on their use of cannabis while off-the-clock” by stopping companies “from punishing workers who fail a certain type of drug test that detects not whether a person is high, but whether the person has used marijuana at all in recent days.”

“For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” Newsom said in a press release on Sunday. “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the Legislature and policymakers to fully realize cannabis legalization in communities across California.”

ABC10 reported that the drug tests in question “rely on urine or hair samples, [and] look for a substance that the body makes when it breaks down THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.”

“But that substance, called metabolites, can remain in a person’s body for weeks after using marijuana, according to the Mayo Clinic. It means people can fail a drug test even though they are not impaired,” the station reported.

The bill protecting off-the-clock weed use passed the California legislature last month.

It was one of several cannabis-related bills signed into law on Sunday by Newsom, whose office said that although “the state has made significant progress since the legalization of cannabis, local opposition, rigid bureaucracy and federal prohibition continue to pose challenges to the industry and consumers.”

One bill will create “a process for California to enter into agreements with other states to allow cannabis transactions with entities outside California,” the governor’s office said, while another bill “preempts local bans on medicinal cannabis delivery, expanding patients’ access to legal, regulated cannabis products.”

A fourth bill will ensure “that Californians with old cannabis-related convictions will finally have those convictions sealed.”

“These bills build on the Administration’s efforts to strengthen California’s cannabis legalization framework. As part of this year’s state budget, the Governor signed legislation to provide tax relief to consumers and the cannabis industry; support equity businesses; strengthen enforcement tools against illegal cannabis operators; bolster worker protections; expand access to legal retail; and protect youth, environmental and public safety programs funded by cannabis tax revenue,” Newsom’s office said in the press release.

The office added: “To expedite policy reforms that prioritize and protect California consumers’ health and safety, the Governor has directed the California Department of Public Health to convene subject matter experts to survey current scientific research and policy mechanisms to address the growing emergence of high-potency cannabis and hemp products. The Governor has also directed the Department of Cannabis Control to further the scientific understanding of potency and its related health impacts by prioritizing the funding of research related to cannabis potency through its existing public university grants.”

It is the second time this month that Newsom has taken action on measures designed to protect Californians’ rights to freely use cannabis.

Earlier this month, Newsom signed a pair of bills that will prevent medical marijuana patients from being discriminated against by physicians and surgeons for a positive THC test.

“Many physicians are under the mistaken impression that they can’t prescribe medication to patients who test positive for cannabis,” California NORML Director Dale Gieringer said regarding the bill.

A study by NORML found that 18.5% of patients have been denied prescription treatment after a doctor learned of their previous cannabis use. 

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The sense of urgency has been laid out as California’s capitol recently recorded its hottest day on record, with the hottest recorded temperatures in some areas in nearly a century.

On August 31, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation urging businesses of all kinds to conserve power as much as possible. On September 6, he ramped things up. “This heat wave is set to be the hottest and longest on record in California for September,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an announcement. “We are now heading into the worst part of it—the risk of outages is real. Your efforts have paid off so far, but we need everyone to double down to save energy after 4 p.m.”

The California Department of Cannabis Control also issued and tweeted a Flex Alert urging growers to do their part, which was shared by Emerald Triangle’s Redheaded Blackbelt on September 6.

“An emergency proclamation has been signed by the Governor due to the extreme heat wave,” the release reads. “Starting now, we are asking all cannabis licensees to voluntarily consider reducing their energy load by: turning off the lights or any major sources of power; and begin using a backup generator, if safe, and available.”

The Department of Cannabis Control also urged growers to use less energy during the hours of 2-9:00 p.m., saying that growers can rearrange chores in some cases.

At 5:18 p.m. on Tuesday, September 6, temperatures hit 116 degrees Fahrenheit in the state’s capitol Sacramento—hitting an “all-time record.” (That’s 46.6 degrees Celsius.) Nearly 100 years ago, the previous record was set at 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.5 degrees Celsius) on July 17, 1925, according to the National Weather Service.

Within minutes, the state’s grid operator announced that it had issued Level 3 energy emergency alerts, with imminent rolling blackouts “very possible,” the grid operator California ISO (CAISO) tweeted. The grid operator hinted that people need to get a bit creative in order to save energy, and that the time to do so would be now.

A Level 3 emergency alert is only one step ahead of flatly ordering rotating power outages. CAISO warned residents that the peak electricity demand last Tuesday hit 52,061 megawatts, which shattered the previous high of 50,270 megawatts, which was set on July 24, 2006.

USA Today reports that over half a million customers in California were given advanced notice to prepare for potential rolling blackouts on Tuesday afternoon, Pacific Gas & Electric tweeted.

Elliot Mainzer, CEO of the California Independent System Operator, told USA Today that the danger of blackouts is real, but that there are things residents can do to avoid it. “Over the last several days, we have seen a positive impact on lowering demand because of everyone’s help,” Mainzer said. “But now we need a reduction in energy use that is two or three times greater than what we’ve seen so far.”

As it turns out, the widespread blackouts that were expected on Tuesday, didn’t come, or blackouts were limited to certain areas.

Mercury News reports that state officials actually canceled the Stage 3 emergency alert at 8:00  p.m. and said that “conservation played a big part in protecting electric grid reliability.”

Residents of all types are encouraged to pre-cool their homes in the early hours of the morning and turn up their thermostats up to 78 degrees Farenheit in the afternoon. Residents are also urged to avoid using major appliances after 4:00 pm.

Residents can also visit FlexAlert.org for more energy saving tips.

The heat wave and vicious heat dome covering the western states of the U.S. is not limited to California or the U.S. A climate scientist told The New York Times that heat waves around the world this summer are pushing nations “to the edge.”

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