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Report reveals California cannabis cultivation and regulatory process puts Tribal cultural resources at risk

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3 months ago

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A comprehensive new report by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Northeastern University reveals that California’s cannabis cultivation threatens Tribal cultural resources. As in other fields of development, however, protecting these resources faces systemic challenges.

Based on the findings of a two-year survey of tribal and agency representatives across the state, the survey found that the state’s current consultation policies, while stronger than in many other states, are inadequate and inconsistently applied, leading to significant risks of irreparable damage to tribal cultural heritage.

“Our research shows a significant disconnect between state policy and the experiences of California’s indigenous tribes. The current cannabis permitting system, while well-intentioned, does not adequately protect ancestral lands and cultural resources,” said Jennifer Sowerwine, the project’s principal investigator and a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in UC Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. “It’s not just about historic preservation; it’s about respecting tribal sovereignty and perpetuating old damage by this new industry. These findings provide a clear roadmap for the state to move beyond performative consultation to a process that is truly meaningful and just.”

Jeremy Sorgen, principal investigator of the project and research faculty at Northeastern University’s Oakland campus, said, “One of the first things we’ve heard from Tribal Historic Preservation Officers and county officials involved in cultural resource protection efforts is that cannabis cultivation occurs on lands that are highly likely to be sensitive to Tribes.”

A good place to grow cannabis can be a Tribal cultural resource
“If it’s relatively flat, near a water source and facing south, it can be not only a good place to grow cannabis, but also a ceremony or a village site or some other place of cultural significance to the tribes,” said Sorgen, who is also a researcher at the UC Berkeley Cannabis Research Center. “What this means is that cannabis producers, historically and today, are actively selecting Tribal cultural resources.”

In 2014, California Assembly Bill 52 amended the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, to include statutory requirements for the protection of tribal cultural resources. This law was enacted shortly before Proposition 64 legalized the use of cannabis in 2016. The study “Examining Tribal Sovereignty over Cannabis Permitting on Native Ancestral Lands” investigated the intersection of these two laws and found that AB 52, while strengthening Tribal consultation at the local level, retains the same problems as previous state and federal cultural resources laws.

The study was designed, conducted and analyzed in collaboration with the seven-member Tribal Advisory Committee, and included comprehensive surveys of 46 Tribal representatives and 56 agency officials, along with 61 in-depth interviews conducted across the state.

The report offers several recommendations for the Department of Cannabis Control and other state agencies to address these systemic problems. Key recommendations include: Working directly with tribal governments to develop fairer consultation processes and accurate maps of ancestral lands. Other recommendations include starting consultations as soon as a permit application is received, providing specific funding and training to Tribes and agency staff involved in consultations, and promoting stronger data sharing agreements between state, local, and Tribal governments.

The new tools support Tribal sovereignty in the consultation
Based on the research findings, the research team and Tribal consultants have developed two sets of tools to support tribal controls in the consultation process.

“California has some of the strongest cultural resource protection laws in the US, but meaningful consultation is undermined by structural problems in the consultation process,” said Shasta Gaughen, environmental director and historic preservation officer for the Pala Band of Mission Indians and a member of the Tribal Advisory Board. “We brought together Tribal historic preservation officials from across the state to develop a toolkit that reflects Tribal consultation experiences, is concise and easy to use, and empowers Tribes, not agencies, to set consultation requirements.”

The By Tribes, For Tribes Consultation Policy Toolkit provides a customizable Consultation Policy template and additional materials for Tribes looking to create their own consultation policies or ordinances. The “by Tribes, for Tribes” approach allows Tribes to proactively guide government agencies in consultative processes based on Tribal preferences, rather than reacting to agency interpretations as required by law.

The UC Berkeley Cannabis Site Mapping Tool provides Tribes with a means to assess the extent of cannabis cultivation on their ancestral or aboriginal land. It can be used to determine possible threats to tribal cultural resources and sensitive sites.

Source: Mavens Notebook

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Greenhouses and more at Fruit Logistica Berlin

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14 hours ago

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February 9, 2026

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New varieties, new concepts, new packaging, new products, new faces – there was a lot to do in Berlin last week. And, new travel schedules too: due to the black ice, many visitors traveling by plane had to extend their stay or find an alternative mode of transport – or both.

Click here for the photo report.

© Arlette Sijmonsma | MMJDaily.com

Fortunately, our bus drivers got us home safely to the Netherlands, and we were able to take all the photos of the greenhouse suppliers, growers and other related parties, so take a seat and enjoy our Fruit Logistica photo report!

There will be more updates this week, as well as extensive reports from our international Freshplaza colleagues, focused on the fresh produce industry.

Click here for the photo report.










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Alaska Government Task Force Recommends Legalizing Psychedelic Therapy Upon FDA Approval

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14 hours ago

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February 9, 2026

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An Alaska psychedelic task force is recommending that the state move forward with plans to provide regulated access to psychedelics if the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows medical use of substances such as psilocybin and MDMA.

According to a law approved in 2024, after working for about a year studying the issue, Alaska Legislative Task Force on Psychedelic Drug Regulation released its findings and recommendations on Thursday.

“Alaska has one of the nation’s highest rates of domestic violence survivors and combat veterans suffering from PTSD, and many Alaskans continue to struggle with traditional treatments,” Sen. Forrest Dunbar (D), the task force’s leader, said in a press release.

“Our approach to these new medical therapies must be properly and independently evaluated so that if the legislature were to make policy changes, we will do so with empirical data in a properly controlled environment,” the senator said.

The panel’s report lists a number of findings based on a review of the scientific literature and expert testimony. This includes findings that some psychedelics do indeed have “potential therapeutic uses” and that “there is a particular focus on the use of these therapies for veterans, survivors of assault and interpersonal violence, and others with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Members emphasized the importance of delivering psychedelic therapies in partnership with “multiple types of providers” to provide comprehensive treatment, rather than leaving it up to the patient.

Among its recommendations, the task force said, “If psychedelic medical therapies are approved by the FDA, the state should take steps to allow them to be used in Alaska, rather than ban their use.”

Alaska regulators should also identify clinical task forces, “whose role is to regularly review up-to-date studies and the evidence base to make recommendations, and rely on those entities to provide ongoing guidance on the use of these therapies,” he said.

“As much as possible, reserve the use of state statute for broad enabling language and essential components of a regulatory structure, and leave most regulatory decisions to the appropriate boards and agencies,” another recommendation reads. “Regulations still require a robust public process to be approved, but they are more predictable and can be updated or changed more easily than statutory amendments that require legislative action.”

“The appropriate parameters for the use of these therapies are likely to change over time as the evidence base matures and FDA approval may be granted for multiple therapies,” he said.

If the FDA continues to approve any psychedelics for medical use, the panel said the Alaska State Board of Medicine should update its guidelines for prescribing controlled substances to include new therapies.

Additionally, if the FDA approves psychedelic drugs and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) federally reschedules substances such as psilocybin, Alaska “should fully reflect federal programming and Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), without adding duplicative or conflicting state regulations, and follow the rules for determining whether a DEA license is required.” the report he says

“This approach respects federal science and facilitates access for patients and providers,” he continues.

Additionally, as lawmakers and regulators await a federal decision to advance psychedelic therapies, states should consider legislation to “incorporate the recommendations made in this report to encourage statewide implementation action.”

“Legislation on triggers would require addressing various process and regulatory issues, such as the role and involvement of professional licensing boards, state agencies, and the Controlled Substances Advisory Committee,” the task force said.

The report also says that psychedelic reform should include military veterans’ access to FDA-approved therapies, which could involve working with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify opportunities to participate in clinical trials and pilot programs using new drugs.

“The grant should be considered to ensure active efforts by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop billing codes that will promote sufficient reimbursement for the provision of psychedelic therapy, which are essential to ensure patient access post-FDA approval,” the panel said.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge (R), who also serves as co-chair of the psychedelic panel, said the task force “focused on preparing Alaska for potential federal approval of psychedelic therapies.”

“These recommendations came from months of collaboration and work by medical professionals, advocates and legislators who focused on patient safety, evidence-based care and access, especially for those who have not seen progress through traditional treatments,” he said.

So far two other states have facilitated fully functioning psychedelic programs. Oregon voters legalized the therapeutic psilocybin in 2020and Colorado’s program was approved at the ballot box in 2022, with the state’s governor signing the legislation a year later to create the regulatory framework for the program

Meanwhile, a campaign in Alaska announced in December that it did not get enough signaturesAn initiative to legalize some psychedelics like psilocybin and DMT on the 2026 state ballot.– but the activists have emphasized that “the work is far from over” as they focus on putting the reform measure before the voters in 2028.

“While we won’t be on the ballot in 2026, we’re still on track for 2028, and with the determination, focus and support of our community, we’ll continue to move forward,” Natural Medicine Alaska said in December. “This movement is gaining momentum every day. In fact, 65 percent of Alaskans support this initiative, and that number continues to grow.”

A pre-campaign policy outline explained that the proposal is “under construction”. The Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022 passed by Colorado votersunder last year facilitators administered the state’s first legal dose of psilocybin.

A 2024 poll found that nearly half (49.4 percent) of Alaskan adults would support a ballot measure more broadly. remove criminal penalties for the use of substances such as psilocybin mushrooms.

That support rose significantly—to nearly two-thirds (65 percent)—when participants were told that Alaska has high rates of mental illness that could be treated with psychedelics.

Photo elements courtesy of the user carlosemmaskype and Apollo.

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Anti legalization group fails to collect signatures to roll back laws

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2 days ago

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February 8, 2026

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A Maine campaign seeking to significantly roll back the state’s marijuana law failed to submit signatures this week for the November 2026 ballot, meaning anti-cannabis activists will have to move to 2027 if they hope to get the issue before voters.

Amid criticism from reform advocates, industry players and some lawmakers for allegedly deceptive signature-gathering tactics, Mainers for a Safe and Healthy Future apparently couldn’t make the cut by the Feb. 2 deadline.

“Cannabis orders were not returned yesterday,” Assistant Secretary of State for Communications Jana Spaulding told Cannabis Business Times on Tuesday. In Maine, that doesn’t mean the campaign has to start from scratch, though, because they can still put the proposition on next year’s ballot. A Republican Maine lawmaker and marijuana industry advocates raised the alarm last month that prohibitionist campaigners were using deceptive petitions to get voters to sign the petition.

A video shared by Rep. David Boyer (R) appeared to feature an image and audio recording of a person gathering signatures for the ballot measure, in which he grossly misrepresented what the cannabis proposal would accomplish, saying its main goal was to ensure the product’s safety through improved testing.

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