In 2017, the city of Oakland made history by becoming the first city in the country to launch a Cannabis Equity Program, which helps those affected by the “War on Drugs” enter the cannabis industry and create thriving local businesses. The program changed policy conversations about cannabis equity in California and across the nation.

Now, in an effort to raise awareness about venture capital and help them survive and thrive, Oakland has launched the nation’s first initiative to promote city-certified venture capital businesses in the cannabis industry. The Oakland Legendary Cannabis Certified Equity Label lets buyers know they support businesses that invest in creating high-quality products by prioritizing equity. The label commemorates the city of Oakland as the birthplace of modern cannabis legalization and highlights its operators as legendary pioneers who define cannabis culture and set standards that are now accepted worldwide. Oakland currently has 50 licensed Equity cannabis businesses.

“Oakland continues to lead with courage and conviction. During my time in Congress, I chaired the Cannabis Caucus and called for cannabis equity programs to address the harm done to Black and Brown communities,” said Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. “Today, the Oakland Legendary label puts power back where it belongs, helping consumers make informed choices and ensuring that those with the most influence lead and thrive in today’s economy. Oakland is proud to lead the way!”

“The City of Oakland is committed to fostering the economic success of local venture capital companies,” said Ashleigh Kanat, director of Oakland’s Department of Economic and Workforce Development. “The Oakland Legendary brand lets consumers know they’re supporting a certified Oakland stock business and getting a true Oakland experience: premium, authentic and locally produced with a story they won’t find anywhere else. This differentiation will increase the presence of cannabis products in the market.”

“The Oakland Legendary brand is the gold standard for quality,” says Dale Sky Jones, Executive Chancellor of Oakland University. “These are the ones who defined the culture and perfected the craft long before there was a legal market. When you buy Oakland Legendary, you’re not just supporting a local business; you’re getting the world’s most authentic, high-caliber cannabis. These brands are true trendsetters, and once you try them, you’ll understand why Oakland remains the epicenter of the world’s finest cannabis.”

“Root’d believes it is extremely important to highlight the brands of operators who were disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs and educate the consumer on the importance of protecting the equity brands that have shaped the culture and community of cannabis. These core equity brands are the root ecosystem of our culture; the bigger and stronger the roots, the healthier Root’d’s culture McCullough” 510 has a long legacy in the cannabis industry and has been featured on the front page of the New York Times for being one of the first dispensaries in the nation. “It’s important to us that we direct consumers to amazing products and also shop with a purpose.”

Consumers can easily identify Oakland’s legendary certified equity operators through the Oakland Legendary certification mark on packaging, advertisements, and certified equity dealer windows. In a nod to the resilience of the community, the brand’s official positioning is slightly tilted, with the word “Legendary” rising, symbolizing the upward trajectory and sustained growth of Oakland’s capital operators.

The Oakland Legendary awareness campaign includes exclusive use of the certification mark on packaging and marketing materials and “I Hella ♡ Oakland Legendary Cannabis” swag. High-visibility billboards are located along Highway 880 to publicize the program. The public awareness campaign is supported by the National Equity Trade Network.

Source: Oakland

“These drugs, in fact, have always been illegal, but we brought clarity to the law and strengthened the law.”

Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas attorney

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) on Wednesday formally gave the go-ahead for the state to enforce a law regulating hemp-derived products after challenging an earlier state measure that banned the sale of such products.

Act 934 of 2025 updated the 2023 law that banned the sale and distribution of certain hemp-derived products, such as Delta-8 and THC-O, according to a press release from Griffin’s office.

The 2023 law was challenged and blocked by a federal judge who said it was preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill, which prohibits laws that interfere with the right to transport hemp in interstate commerce.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the order last summer, allowing Arkansas to implement a ban on those products. In a period of three months, the State Department of Finance and Administration seized more than 6,000 products, the statement said.

The 2025 law would take effect when Griffin certified that a final judgment had been entered in the case. The Attorney General of the Republic signed this certificate on Wednesday in a press conference held in his office.

“It’s been a long road to get to this point, but I’m proud of my team for successfully defending the 2023 Act, and I’m happy to finally secure this Act,” Griffin. he said in a statement

Hemp-derived products were packaged as gummies and drinks marketed to children and sold online and in stores without age requirements for purchase, Griffin said.

Sen. Tyler Dees, a Siloam Springs Republican who sponsored both bills, said Wednesday the issue is important to him as a father of three young children. Dees said she listened to lobbyists and concerned parents when the legislation was debated, and came out “in favor of protecting children over the profits of these illegal drug dealers.”

“These drugs have honestly always been illegal, but we have brought clarity to the law and strengthened the law,” he said. “And that’s why I’m so excited today that Arkansas is safer for all of our communities because of the actions we’ve been able to take.”

Arkansas is among several states trying to regulate hemp products, including Alabama, Indiana and Missouri.

Arkansas voters legalized medical marijuana in 2016 and rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in 2022.

This story was first published by the Arkansas Advocate.

Finnish cleantech company NPHarvest has launched a pilot plant at Biogas Westerbakum GmbH & Co. KG in Lower Saxony, Germany, marking its entry into Europe’s largest biogas market. The demonstration unit will operate for 4 months and is designed to continuously process around 20 cubic meters per day of liquid digestate – the nutrient-rich by-product left after biogas production – and recover around 26 tonnes per year. The project allows operators to extract useful nutrients directly from side streams, turning digestate from a management cost into a commercial resource. As Germany tightens nutrient regulations under EU nitrate limits, the installation shows how biogas facilities can boost compliance while improving asset productivity.

The demo unit began operation on March 10, and was monitored through online data and routine laboratory analysis during the first month of operation. Initial results have also been cross-checked with an external laboratory in Oldenburg, showing results from external measurements consistent with NPHarvest’s internal analysis.

Under the EU’s Nitrates Directive, nitrogen application in vulnerable areas is limited to 170kg per hectare per year, and Germany has introduced stricter fertilizer regulations to reduce nutrient excesses and nitrate levels in groundwater. In a country with more than 9,700 biogas plants in operation, the sector is increasingly constrained by digestate expansion limits and rising transport costs, reshaping the economics of nutrient management. At the same time, the fertilizer market remains volatile, creating demand for locally produced nutrients. By recovering nitrogen and phosphorus directly from biogas side streams, NPHarvest allows operators to reduce excess while creating a salable product that would otherwise be a compliance burden.

“Biogas plants were designed to produce renewable energy, but they also create nutrient streams of high untapped value,” said Dr. Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen, CEO of NPHarvest. “We see nutrient recovery as a structural breakthrough for the sector, enabling operators to improve asset productivity without expanding their physical footprint. Germany sets the benchmark for biogas operations in Europe, and by integrating nutrient recovery into existing infrastructure, it has the opportunity to lead the next phase of the industry, where energy production and resource efficiency go hand in hand.”

© NPHarvest

Unlike many conventional nutrient recovery systems, which require energy-intensive unloading or long-distance transport, NPHarvest’s membrane-based process recovers nitrogen and phosphorus with low operational energy and simplified dosing, allowing for modular integration into existing biogas infrastructure. NPHarvest’s technology is capable of capturing up to 90% of nitrogen and phosphorus from liquid waste streams and converting them into key inputs for fertilizer production, including ammonium sulfate and calcium phosphate. During the first weeks of operation, the unit operated reliably under real digestate conditions, supporting the case for integration into existing biogas infrastructure. The system is offered as a plug-in to the existing infrastructure, without affecting the operation of the plant.

The German pilot is based on the company’s industrial-scale demonstration at a biogas plant in Ankara, Turkey, where the system validated its performance in a commercial operational environment.

Founded as a spinout of Aalto University, NPHarvest has secured €2.2 million in pre-funding from internal investors Nordic Foodtech VC and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, and has recently been selected for an additional €1.2 million in support as part of Business Finland’s Deep Tech Accelerator program. In addition to the industrial-scale demonstration in Ankara, the company has validated its technology through field trials at the University of Helsinki’s Viikki research farm, where recovered nitrogen and phosphorus were compared to conventional synthetic fertilizers. Building on these milestones, NPHarvest is expanding into key European biogas markets, where regulatory pressure and cost of nutrient transport are accelerating demand for localized nutrient recovery solutions.

“The level of interest in this facility has been very encouraging. We have already seen a great deal of participation from operators and other industry players who see nutrient recovery as a practical answer to a growing challenge in the biogas sector,” said Milan Hofmann, managing director of Varea Water, NPHarvest’s regional project developer in Central Europe and the UK. “Plants are under increasing pressure to manage digestate more efficiently, and there is clearly a demand for solutions that can turn this burden into a useful product with economic value.”

“Greenhouse growers are particularly exposed to fertilizer cost and supply pressures, so the ability to recover nutrients locally is a very interesting development. Although this pilot is focused on biogas side streams, the broader implication is that a more circular and resilient input model of recovered nitrogen and phosphorus can also be applied to horticulture,” concludes Juho Uzkurt Kaljunen.

For more information:
NPHarvest
Email: (email protected)
npharvest.fi/