Marijuana

Oakland North’s 2017 year in review — our top stories

2017 brought a new group of student reporters to Oakland North from across the country and the globe. They covered a city in flux: a housing and homelessness crisis that shows no sign of abating, a school district facing millions in budget cuts, a citywide crackdown on warehouse spaces in the wake of the Ghost Ship fire, and local reactions to the new immigration and sanctuary city polices coming out of Washington under the new Donald Trump administration. But they also dug…

Ganja Goddess “weed prom” comes to Oakland

It’s every high schooler’s prom dream: good music, hot dates, no parents, and weed. Tons of it. Hosted by Ganja Goddess, a cannabis collective that organizes “weed retreats” for women, the Ganja Goddess Gala was a chance to re-do prom the way the collective members wanted to. With a balloon arch, a photo booth, a DJ set, a dance floor, enough sparkly plastic crowns to go around (because “everyone’s royalty tonight,” one organizer said), and buffet tables piled high with…

City council approves Oak Knoll development project

Oak Knoll is a housing development project that will bring new commerce and housing to the East Oakland. But even though housing is much needed in Oakland, some Oaklanders stand against the project because it does not set aside any units as affordable housing.

During an opioid epidemic, can cannabis be an alternative pain treatment?

Dani Geen was 18 when she was in a severe accident: the car spun violently and was smashed on all four sides. The force of the seatbelt broke all of Geen’s ribs and caused internal abscesses. She came to in an ambulance, panicking from pain and shock, and felt the sharp stab of a needle—the injection of a tranquilizer. Her recovery in the hospital and at home was bolstered by Norco and Percocet, to which she built up a hefty…

Cannabis industry in limbo as California ends pot prohibition

With the passage of Proposition 64 on the November 8 ballot, and new statewide medical cannabis regulations about to be implemented, California state regulators get to spend the next 13 months establishing all the rules needed for a state-regulated system. And it won’t be an easy task.