There's no subtle way to ask, so ... What is up with all of these Chinese immigrants working that hemp crop on Navajo land?
LAist 

• Until late summer, more than a thousand people reportedly brought in from Los Angeles farmed the "northeast corner of the Navajo Nation, near the town of Shiprock, New Mexico." Predominantly immigrant, and notably Chinese, some of the workers were as young as 10. 
• “Some of the Chinese carry guns,” said Darren Gipson, a 19-year-old worker. The 400-acre grow's management, too, skews Chinese. 
• The workers were brought to New Mexico in 2019 by local politician Dineh Benally. Irving Lin, a Los Angeles-based associate of Benally acknowledged that unsanctioned pot is being cultivated on the Navajo ground.

Quick Hits

1. Not two weeks after Sept. 7's discovery of seven corpses on a grow outside Temecula, eastern Riverside threw its hat still deeper into contention for Golden State Illicit Hot Spot of the Month. 
   Patch
2. Investigative anti-vaxxer Sharyl Attkisson has Bureau of Cannabis Control's Alex Traverso set to guest on Sunday's episode of Full Measure News.
   Twitter

After multiple seasons of ludicrous economic pressure, the industry finally gets "an opportunity to really kind of establish our budgets," says Jerred Kiloh of the United Cannabis Business Association. Shelter comes in the form of tax freezes through next year, signed into law by Gov. Newsom. 
Sacramento Bee

• One of a flurry of bills from last session, Assembly Bill 1872 keeps the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration from adjusting the cannabis excise tax markup until next July.
• Cultivation tax rates for the 2021 calendar year cannot be adjusted for inflation, unless the adjustment results in a rate less than zero.

Quick Hit

1. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration offered new draft guidelines on orally ingested CBD meds.
   Marijuana Moment

The Alliance for Sensible Markets has an ingenious plan for governors of legal cannabis states to enter into a compact that could result in Congress allowing trade among them through a stand-alone bill.

Once in place, the entity would operate like the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 
Marijuana Moment

• The Port Authority was created in 1921 to regulate transportation and infrastructure in the two states.
• Adam Smith, founder and president of the Alliance for Sensible Markets, insists two states forming cannabis markets would "immediately increase valuations significantly for thousands of farms and businesses on the West Coast, which will spur investment expansion and jobs." 
• Nearly 60 advocacy groups support the campaign, including the Minority Cannabis Business Association, New York City Cannabis Industry Association, Craft Cannabis Alliance and Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce.

Quick Hit

1. Shoppers are visiting dispensaries less, but buying in larger volume than in pre-pandemic living. That's just one way consumer buying patterns have changed since the start of quarantine.
   MJ Biz Daily

Until the wildfire damage is tallied and factored in, Sonoma County's seat can say its cannabis industry is in a remarkable place, with North Bay tax revenue up 35%. 
North Bay Business Journal

• Santa Rosa has brought in $1.9M since July of last year. That's over $500K more than the previous July-to-June fiscal year. 
• A majority of Sonoma County jurisdictions continue to prohibit cannabis sales.

Quick Hit

1. We get that you're a sophisticated California urbanite, but are you truly ready to have magic mushrooms at the crib?
   DoubleBlind

On Monday, the online portal to apply for this year's California Community Reinvestment Grant, a program to assist residents harmed by the War on Drugs, will open up and offer health, wellness and economic-justice funds.
Marijuana Moment

• Last year, the program made its first round of awards, amounting to $9.6M for 69 grantees. The funding paid for "job placement, mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, system navigation services, legal services to address barriers to reentry, and linkages to medical care for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies."
• Funded by excise and cultivation taxes, the Office of Business and Economic Development program makes $30M available for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Next year the number moves to $40M, and then $50M  for 2022-2023, where it's set to remain.
• Applicants will have until Nov. 2 to submit.

For the second time, a Los Angeles police officer has been arrested on suspicion of stealing money from a cannabis grow employee's backpack. Officer Luis Mota was first arrested in January. 
Associated Press 

• An employee of the grow facility told LAPD in January that money was missing from her backpack after a police inspection, and surveillance video allegedly showed the 46-year-old officer taking the cash.
• Officials have not offered new evidence on what prompted the added charge, nor have Mota or his lawyer offered comment. Mota is to be arraigned in January and faces three years imprisonment if convicted. 

Quick Hits

1. The licensers over at CalCannabis remind us this week that growers should pay special attention to the census because the count plays a role in fire preparation.
   Twitter 
2. In the same week we learned High Times lost two leases in The City we discover that Cookies is following last month's incursion into Cambridge, MA, with 2021 plans for Florida.
   SF Weekly/Miami Herald

Fresno's City Council is expected to consider application fees on October 15, and within the next month the city is likely to dispense as many as 14 licenses. The aim is to begin selling weed legally in Q1 2021.
San Joaquin Valley Sun

• The city will allow up to 16 cultivators, distributors and manufacturers to receive a cannabis business permit. A maximum of 14 dispensaries will be allowed at the outset. Fresno's City Council can permit as many as seven more via resolution. 
• Fresno will offer a Zoom orientation for the permit application process on Oct. 20. 

Quick Hits

1. Researchers have discovered that milk chocolate, dark chocolate and cocoa may be throwing off the accuracy of THC testing in edibles.
   MJ Biz Daily
2. The Bureau of Cannabis Control and Department of Public Health on Thursday announced the filing of a complaint seeking civil penalties from Vertical Bliss, Inc., aka Kushy Punch. The state charges unlicensed operations and illegally manufactured product. WeedWeek has the story.
   Instagram

In a Tuesday press release, the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission announced its inquiry into the effect of cannabis on local human rights.
Redheaded Blackbelt

• The survey language points out the distinction between a human right ("one acquires by being alive") and a civil right ("that one obtains by being a legal member of a certain political state"). The questions can be answered by email or postal service.
• "Humboldt County is the epicenter of cannabis," the county's Human Rights Commission Chair Lelehnia Du Bois told the California newsletter via email this week. "The commission determined, through community input, it was time to inquire how being at that epicenter is impacting Humboldt County’s community members from a humanitarian perspective."

Quick Hits

1. In 1867 the Hessel Grange began as a means of helping farmers from Maine to California. Now the resurrected Grange is 70-members strong and seriously into Mary Jane.
   Bohemian
2. Is raw cannabis juice the new superfood?
   Cannabis Now

In an Instagram mishap reminiscent of Kevin Durant's early social media missteps or the Laremy Tunsil gas mask episode of 2016, highly recruited 15-year-old basketball star Bronny James shared a visual of himself smoking what appeared to be Mary Jane.

One day, episodes such as these will make small waves, but last week the Southern California high school student went through a digital tsunami. 
The GrowthOp

• James' father is presently employed within an Orlando bubble, representing Los Angeles in a high-profile basketball tournament. It's a fair guess that Bronny James is rooting harder than ever for the Lakers to make a long run. 

Quick Hits

1. If you miss sharing weed with friends, you'll love this piece of writing. 
   Weedmaps
2. Here are Allison Campbell's portraits of the people who bring you WeedWeek. 
   Twitter