San Jose-based family-owned cannabis dispensary, Purple Lotus, has announced the launch of Lotus NOW, a Priority Delivery Program that delivers premium cannabis from store to door in an hour or less. The program is now available at plpcsanjose.com/lotus-now and is available to adults 21 and older in more than 51 cities in Santa Clara, Alameda, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties.

Lotus NOW tackles the long wait times associated with traditional cannabis delivery. Orders placed through the program are prioritized instantly, fulfilled by Purple Lotus’ in-house drivers and supported by real-time GPS tracking and automatic SMS updates, giving customers complete transparency from payment to out the door.

“Our customers have been asking for faster shipping for years. Lotus NOW is our answer, not just faster, but a completely better experience. Live tracking, real inventory, our own drivers and the quality people Purple Lotus has trusted for 15 years,” said Matt Krishnamachari, founder of Purple Lotus.

Key features of Lotus NOW include express delivery in one hour or less, live GPS tracking, automatic text notifications, live sync inventory showing only in-stock products and flexible payment by debit card, cash or Treez Pay. All deliveries are handled by Purple Lotus trained staff only, with no third party courier services. Customers receive an SMS confirmation immediately after ordering, followed by additional updates when the order ships, the driver is on the way, and upon arrival.

The Lotus NOW catalog covers the full range of cannabis categories available in California, with live inventory updates that show only what’s currently in stock, eliminating the common frustration of placing an order only to find out items are unavailable. Lotus NOW currently ships to more than 51 Bay Area cities, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Milpitas, Campbell, Los Gatos and Saratoga, as the flagship service of the San Jose express delivery program.

New customers can start using Lotus NOW by visiting plpcsanjose.com/lotus-now, performing a one-time age and identity verification and placing an order from any address in the service area. Existing Purple Lotus customers can choose Lotus NOW directly from their account dashboard with no additional setup required. The program operates during all hours of licensed delivery of California cannabis, seven days a week, with availability throughout the priority routing window.

For more information:
The purple lotus
https://plpcsanjose.com/

Curaleaf Holdings has completed the acquisition of the remaining 45% stake it did not previously own in Four 20 Pharma GmbH, a German producer and distributor of fully EU-GMP and GDP licensed medical cannabis. Four 20 Pharma is recognized for its high quality cultivation, pharmaceutical grade processing and comprehensive distribution network in Germany and several European markets serving nursing homes, pharmacies and research institutions. The company’s commitment to compliance, patient care and scientific rigor positions it as a cornerstone of the European medical cannabis ecosystem.

The full acquisition of Four 20 Pharma vertically strengthens Curaleaf’s integrated global supply chain, from proprietary cultivation sources in Portugal and Canada to licensed distribution throughout Germany, providing patient quality assurance from seed and full oversight at every stage. Since the initial agreement in 2022, Curaleaf and Four 20 Pharma have worked closely together to expand patient access, advance research initiatives and streamline the international cannabis supply chain by validating a data-driven approach to education, cultivation and product development.

© Curaleaf

“Completing this acquisition of the remaining stake in Four 20 Pharma reinforces our commitment to Europe and the strategic importance of building high-quality local operations in a market that will continue to grow significantly,” said Boris Jordan, CEO and President of Curaleaf. “Four 20 Pharma’s leadership in production, fulfillment and distribution allows us to expand patient access to medical cannabis while driving innovation in the international market. This investment has been a significant and strategic anchor in our international strategy, and we look forward to continued long-term growth in Europe.”

“Joining Curaleaf as a fully integrated subsidiary marks an exciting new chapter for Four 20 Pharma,” said Torsten Greif, Founder and Managing Director of Four 20 Pharma. “We built this company on an uncompromising commitment to quality, compliance and patient care, values ​​that align perfectly with Curaleaf’s international mission. Together, we are positioned to set the standard for medical cannabis in regulated markets around the world.”

Building on the success of Four 20 Pharma in Germany, Curaleaf has already launched the Four 20 brand in the UK and Poland and plans to continue expanding the brand to additional international markets, leveraging the quality and fulfillment model that has made Four 20 Pharma one of Germany’s most trusted medical cannabis brands.

“There is no longer an inherent connection or logical connection between the smell of marijuana and illegal activity, and for good reason.”

By Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is considering a case that questions whether the smell of marijuana alone is enough for law enforcement to obtain a warrant to search a person’s home.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on an appeal of the Berkeley County Circuit Court’s decision to throw out evidence found in a home after Martinsburg police detected a “strong odor” of drugs. Ignoring the evidence prevented the state from prosecuting a man on drug charges, a lawyer told judges last week.

Aaron Lewis was arrested in 2020 on three counts of drug possession with intent to deliver and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, according to to report From the Herald-Mail.

Court documents say Martinsburg police were responding to a call from another man, who was searching the caller’s yard, about a suicidal woman who allegedly stabbed herself. The officers were unable to find the woman and began a door-to-door search for her.

Officers went to Lewis’ home where his son, Aaron Lewis Jr., answered the door. Officers detected a “strong odor of marijuana,” according to court documents. Young Lewis refused to give officers permission to search the house.

Before obtaining a search warrant, they entered the home to conduct a “protective search,” during which they found a wad of cash and two clear containers in the kitchen’s kitchen, court documents say. Two officers then left to obtain a search warrant while other officers remained on scene to secure the apartment.

An officer cited the strong odor of marijuana and observations during the sweep as the basis for believing a controlled dangerous substance was present in the home.

A magistrate granted a warrant to search Lewis’ home, seizing “(a)ny and all controlled substances … including, but not limited to, heroin and methamphetamine,” as well as seizing cash, firearms, books, digital devices and drug paraphernalia. the documents say

During the search, officers seized bags and containers of suspected marijuana, a bag of suspected heroin, a bag of crack cocaine, a handgun and 11 rounds of ammunition and cash, according to court documents.

A lawyer for Lewis asked a judge in 2023 to suppress all evidence seized under the warrant, arguing that the initial warrantless search — a security search before a search — violated the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. Without the observations made during the search, all that was left was the smell of marijuana, and that alone is not enough to constitute probable cause, the attorney argued.

Berkeley Circuit Judge Debra McLaughlin granted Lewis’ motion to suppress the evidence, saying homes searched should be given more protection than cars. The judge ruled that the smell of marijuana alone did not constitute evidence of “illegal drug trafficking and/or possession of heroin, methamphetamine and/or other illegal drugs” in the home, court documents state.

The state of West Virginia is seeking a writ of prohibition in the case, a legal order barring the circuit court from proceeding outside its jurisdiction.

“The precedent for this court is clear,” Holly Mestemacher, West Virginia’s assistant attorney general, told the justices. “The odor of marijuana provides probable cause to search. The circuit court ignored and rewrote the law and suppressed evidence seized pursuant to a search warrant.” He described the judge’s decision to suppress the evidence as a “clear and glaring legal error” that exceeded his authority.

The court required “an almost impossible list of proofs required before certainty and probable cause exist,” he argued.

The ruling took away evidence the state needed to move forward in the case, he said.

“It’s actually a death knell for our ability to judge because the court required that standard far beyond what the law has ever required,” he said.

Cameron LeFevre, an attorney representing Lewis, asked the Supreme Court to uphold the Circuit Court’s ruling denying the state’s request for a writ of prohibition. He said the judge doesn’t have to answer whether the smell of marijuana justifies a search. There were “flaws” in the case, he said, including an improper security search, an illegal search of the home and an affidavit that lacked important details.

Federal courts have affirmed that the smell of marijuana is evidence of criminal activity and warrants law enforcement, but many state courts are reconsidering that based on the changing legal status of the drug. according to State Court Report, A project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. The West Virginia Legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2017. All states around West Virginia have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

LeFevre argued that the Lewis case is not appropriate for the Supreme Court to decide whether the smell of marijuana alone is sufficient to warrant a lawful search.

“There’s an incomplete record. It’s a unique procedural stance. It’s in a writ of prohibition,” he said. “It would be far better for the court to reasonably decide . . . the case on its final merits, after a trial, after a full record, and then there are no other procedural and legal issues in the process of seeking the warrant and the search itself.”

However, if the court decides to take up the issue of the smell of marijuana, he said, the mere smell of marijuana is no longer sufficient probable cause.

“There has been an important development in the laws of the land regarding marijuana,” he said. “(Medical marijuana) has been legalized in West Virginia. It’s been partially legalized in other states around West Virginia. There’s no longer an inherent connection or logical connection between the smell of marijuana and illegal activity, and there’s good reason for that.”

The court is expected to rule on the case before the end of the current trial on June 11.

This story was first published by West Virginia Watch.