October Newsletter | Berkeley Cannabis Research Center – The Hmong Agrarian Diasporas StoryMap – Our research team at the National Cannabis Research Conference in San Diego
Our research team at the National Cannabis Research Conference in San Diego
Cannabis Law Report · · 2 min read
October 2026 Newsletter
This month, the CRC is excited to share with you:
- The Hmong Agrarian Diasporas StoryMap
- Our research team at the National Cannabis Research Conference in San Diego
- An opportunity to hear our director, Micahel Polson, speak at a California Lawyers Association webinar on November 9.
- An introduction to Meredith Whitcher, our newest undergraduate research assistant!
New Research!
Click on the photo above to check out our new StoryMap where we tell part of the story of Hmong communities in Northern California and share findings from our broader Hmong Agrarian Diasporas research project.
Over the past seven years, Margiana Petersen-Rockney and her colleagues have built relationships and trust with Hmong farmers in California and beyond. The research team, which includes Michael Polson and Christy Getz, along with community members and students, has examined how local policy and county enforcement strategies — including cannabis bans built into California’s legalization framework — have resulted in cannabis farmers being treated as entrepreneurs in some places and criminals in others. Through this work, the research team has built trust and relationships with Hmong farmers that are foundational to this Hmong Agrarian Diasporas research project.
Recent Events
Ishaq Ali, Michael Polson, Rob Chlala, Jesse Goldstein, Dilara Uskup
This month, the “Investment, Operating Pressures, and Anti-Competitive Characteristics in the Cannabis Industry” research team traveled from across the country to meet in person at the National Cannabis Research Conference in San Diego and present preliminary findings. Look out for a recording of our panel at the conference to be posted on our website soon!
Upcoming Event
Presented by the Environmental Law Section and the Cannabis Practitioner Group.
An overview of how California law and agencies govern the environmental footprint of cannabis cultivation: water, wildlife, energy/carbon, licensing, enforcement, and environmental justice, with researchers, a regulator, a scholar, and a defense lawyer.
Speakers: Dr. Michael Polson, Dr. Evan Mills, Prof. Gina S. Warren, Jeffrey L. Kaloustian, and Scott Bauer
Moderator: Shay Aaron Gilmore
Welcome, Meredith Whitcher
Join us in recognizing Meredith Whitcher, our newest undergraduate researcher!
Meredith Whitcher is currently a second year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Economics and Policy, and B.A. in Data Science. Meredith is the newest undergraduate research assistant in the faculty initiated “Investment, Operating Pressures, and Anti-Competitive Characteristics in the Cannabis Industry”, SPUR research project through Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. She is very excited to work with the Berkeley CRC, and hopes the exposure to this project will support her interest in the socio-ecological aspects of markets, and forest economics/management.
“I am very grateful for this learning opportunity, and can’t wait for how this experience will shape my studies in the future!”
From Cannabis Law Report.
Information, not legal advice. Check the primary source before relying on it.
