When Rush could not pay back $600K he borrowed from a cannabis businessman, he promised not to unionize the man’s dispensaries in exchange for slashing the loan by $250K.
Medical Cannabis Commission
Posted inCity
Medical cannabis grow sites are now almost legal in West Berkeley
The Berkeley City Council has finally set criteria for the medical cannabis grow houses voters approved in 2010.
Posted inCrime & Safety
Former chair of Berkeley cannabis commission pleads guilty to money laundering
Dan Rush served on the Medical Cannabis Commission for many years, but now admits he was using his position as a union organizer to enrich himself.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Berkeley City Council should allow ‘nursery only’ dispensaries
Cannabis nurseries can provide an alternative to industrial crop production.
Posted inCity
Berkeley commission shortlists 3 for cannabis dispensary
More than 50 people crowded into a room at City Hall on Feb. 4 to listen as the Medical Cannabis Commission selected three finalists for the fourth dispensary. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Berkeley’s Medical Cannabis Commission selected three finalists for the city’s coveted fourth dispensary opportunity Thursday. This despite the fact that a number of the commission’s members […]
Posted inBusiness
6 groups vying for dispensary permit hold meetings
The owners of Amoeba Music would like to open a cannabis dispensary on the property. Photo: Tom Dalzell The owners of Amoeba Music would like to open a cannabis dispensary on the property. Photo: Tom Dalzell When David Prinz goes before a gathering of Telegraph Avenue neighbors Thursday to talk about the cannabis dispensary he would like […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley cannabis dispensary selection proceeds, despite mayor’s suggestion to stop process
Berkeley City Council, Jan. 27, 2015. Photo: Emilie Raguso A plea by the chair of the Medical Cannabis Commission to reinstate his application for Berkeley’s fourth medical cannabis dispensary was ignored by the City Council Tuesday night, but council members did vote to slightly jigger the selection process. The City Council voted 6-1-1, with Mayor Tom […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley medical cannabis commissioner faces fraud and extortion charges
Dan Rush addresses a group at the Cannabis Workers Rising Symposium in Winchester, Nevada. Photo: Facebook The former chair of Berkeley’s Medical Cannabis Commission (MCC) is scheduled to appear in federal court today, Sept. 23, to face extortion, fraud and money laundering charges connected to his dealings with cannabis dispensaries in Berkeley, Oakland and Las […]
Posted inBusiness
11 groups vie to open Berkeley’s 4th cannabis dispensary
Marc Weinstein, the owner of Amoeba Music, wants to open a cannabis dispensary next door to the store at 2465 Telegraph Ave. Photo: Tom Dalzell Marc Weinstein, the owner of Amoeba Music, wants to open a cannabis dispensary next door to the store at 2465 Telegraph Ave. Photo: Tom Dalzell The owner of Amoeba Music, […]
Posted inCity
12 apply to operate Berkeley’s fourth cannabis dispensary
Forty Acres cannabis collective may be one of the applicants for Berkeley’s fourth medical cannabis dispensary, according to Charley Pappas, the chair of the Medical Cannabis Commission. Pappas’s group, Community Partnership 4 Health, is also applying. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Forty Acres cannabis collective may be one of the applicants for Berkeley’s fourth medical cannabis dispensary, […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley may consider new rules for cannabis grow sites
Cannabis being inspected at Berkeley Patients Group in 2011. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Update 11/19/14: The City Council voted on Nov. 18 to refer this item to the Planning Commission for further review. Even though Berkeley residents voted in 2010 to allow six commercial cannabis grow sites to operate in the city’s manufacturing zone, none has […]
Posted inCity
Free pot for the poor: Berkeley council codifies what many cannabis dispensaries already doing
The Berkeley Patients Group has distributed free medical cannabis for years to low-income patients. A new law passed by the Berkeley City Council codifies this and requires dispensaries to give away 2% of its cannabis to the poor. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel Berkeley’s medical marijuana dispensaries must provide 2% of their cannabis free of charge to very […]