Cannabis

A licensed cannabis grower, a vineyard owner and a sheriff were among witnesses who testified this week before a committee of the Oregon Legislature, in an effort to seek help in stemming the proliferation of illegal grow sites in southern Oregon

The legislative pause expires on Jan. 2. Meanwhile, the OLCC has reworked how it handles applications to sell or process cannabis, agency spokesman Mark Pettinger told OPB’s Think Out Loud on Monday.

Officials in Jackson County in southwest Oregon plan to ask the state for more than $7.2 million to help crack down on the billions of dollars worth of illegal pot grows across the Rogue Valley.

Efforts to clamp down on illegal cannabis cultivation in Southern Oregon could get attention from the federal government with the help of Congressman Cliff Bentz.

Thousands of immigrants working on illegal marijuana farms in southern Oregon that authorities say are run by foreign cartels are living in squalid conditions and are sometimes being cheated by their gangland bosses.

A community forum on Tuesday night focusing on illegal cannabis cultivation in Southern Oregon detailed a litany of abuses as local and state agencies try to reign in illegal operations.

An allegation of human trafficking followed multiple 911 hang-up calls that came from a property suspected of hosting an illegal cannabis farm, as well as a from an unnamed source. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel noted cartel-like characteristics at the farm.

Sen. Ron Wyden looks to Oregon’s cannabis industry to lead the way in showing the rest of the nation what “cannabis common sense” looks like.

In Southern Oregon, cannabis farming is booming. But while hemp and recreational cannabis can both be legally grown in the state, there are fears that much of this year’s expansion is on the illegal market.

As Oregon’s cannabis market matures, and a push to federally legalize the product gains momentum, an industry that got its start in basements, backyards and forests is taking its ambitions global, at the same time as local consumption drives breakneck growth.