An investigation into south Mississippi businesses selling “alcohol, dangerous illegal vapes, THC edibles,” and other age-restricted or illegal items to underage customers has resulted in at least a dozen arrests with more possible, according to law enforcement.

An announcement by the Perry County Sheriff’s Office said deputies began an investigation in early 2024 after fielding complaints that some businesses in the county were purposely allowing individuals under the age of 21 to purchase age-restricted products.

Sheriff Jacob Garner said as the investigation unfolded, it quickly became clear that the issue was not restricted to Perry County. Law enforcement in nearby Forrest, Lamar, Marion, Greene, Jefferson Davis, and Jones counties had received similar complaints about businesses in their jurisdictions.

Local agencies teamed up with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for over a year’s worth of identifying subjects, initiating traffic stops, and fielding more calls for service. It culminated on Sept. 11 after 20 search warrants were carried out, with 12 individuals being arrested for their involvement in the businesses selling alcohol, tobacco, and THC to minors.

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“Anyone who chooses to open a business in Perry County for the purpose of selling illegal narcotics, vapes, or THC products to children or adults will be arrested and prosecuted,” Garner said. “These items – disguised as safe or legal – are destroying lives and endangering the health and safety of our citizens. Business owners profiting off the harm of our children and adults in our county will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Garner added that many of the defendants, while operating in different counties, were working in tandem. The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and the Mississippi Highway Patrol aided in the investigation that remains active.

The following list of arrests and charges has been announced by the involved law enforcement agencies:

• Khaled Alhamidi, 55, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking while in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy to sell a controlled substance.
• Akram Alhamidi, 25, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking while in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy to sell a controlled substance.
• Omar Obaid, 40, of Hattiesburg: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance.
• Gaizan Abubaker, 37, of Houma, La.: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance.
• Rami Selah, 32, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking of a controlled substance while in possession of an enhanced firearm.
• Bassel Saleh, 53, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance.
• Mark Shaibi, 24, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm.
• Gabr Al-Gabri, 36, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking of a controlled substance while in possession of an enhanced firearm.
• Basel Rashad, 30, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking while in possession of a firearm.
• Anmed Elgabry, 30, of Petal: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance, trafficking of a controlled substance while in possession of an enhanced firearm.
• Mohammed Riyadh, 31, of Hattiesburg: Two counts of aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance.
• Ahmedou Mohamedlaamar, 22, of Perry County: Aggravated trafficking of a controlled substance.

You know those tequila shops in Mexico? The tourist traps in every major resort town that try to pass off random blends of grain spirits as the real-deal Holyfield blue agave tequila?

Yes, this may come as a shock to our audience, but if you have even the slightest sense of what defines a quality cannabis product, you may leave Amsterdam feeling a bit… hoodwinked. Bamboozled. Punk’d.

Firmly the mecca of cannabis since back in 1976, Amsterdam holds a special place in our stoner hearts because of their laissez-faire approach to recreational consumption. For many, a trip to their famed coffee shops was the first chance we had to legally get high. White Widow, AK-47, OG Kush…they seem to have all the classics, along with a laundry list of different Hazes (e.g, Amnesia Haze, a signature smoke of the Dutch).

On my most recent trip back in July, I stepped off the plane after a particularly hellish 20+ hour journey from LA to Istanbul before finally reaching Schiphol and beelined for The Bulldog, arguably the most famous coffee shop in existence. While I appreciated the conversations I had with other patrons and staff alike, including a gregarious German home grow enthusiast living on an isolated island in the Caribbean, only in town while on his way to Eastern Europe for “the REAL Dracula history tour, not the one you see in guides,” the caliber of social interaction doesn’t really make up for how subpar their cannabis is.

Imagine an OG Kush that doesn’t look like OG, doesn’t smell like OG, or even hit you like OG. Yeah, it’s even more of a gutpunch after you realize you dropped $18 on a single gram of it.

Do the Dutch simply not care about quality? Or perhaps they mix so much damn tobacco into their spliffs that it doesn’t matter?

In my travels, I met many locals who also bemoaned their city’s lack of quality. This all stems from the fact that the Dutch have adopted a “tolerance policy,” as while cannabis (and other substances) do remain federally illegal in the Netherlands, they’ve realized that attempting to regulate often does more harm than good. Who’d have thought?!?

While there is essentially zero enforcement around the use of “soft drugs”, such as cannabis and psilocybin truffles, the rest of the supply chain is a fragmented nightmare of backroom deals and questionable practices. Simply stated, it’s all illicit market product.

Their system is entirely built around rewarding the lowest cost of production, regardless of safety or standards. Any cannabis you’ll find in Amsterdam hasn’t been lab tested, meaning that harmful bacteria, pesticides, and who knows what else are likely present in your bag. They’re able to get away with it, as most of the tourists crawling the Red Light District will never return to that same shop. It’s designed to run efficiently and without accountability.

Case in point:

• It is illegal to possess or use cannabis.
• It is illegal to commercially grow cannabis.
• It is legal for coffeeshops to sell you cannabis, but not for them to acquire that cannabis, so it “magically appears” for sale at each location.

Curious, eh? This is also why there is a very high probability that your coffee shop cannabis was grown on the top floor of a local high-rise apartment building by an organized criminal syndicate (and yes, they own/operate the rest of the space to provide cover). Your OG isn’t true OG because there are no repercussions if it’s not.

Now, the one exception where you can find true-to-strain cuts seems to be most of the Haze cultivars, as these are massively popular in Europe (and thus with locals) and known for being premium quality, so the bar is often a bit higher.

Fortunately, the times they are a-changin’ and even a craft rosin scene has started to develop in the city. I was personally blown away by the service I received at Boerejongens, a coffee shop that the headiest of locals kept endorsing. Outside of their shop, I was greeted by an employee in a sharp bowler hat and three-piece suit. These guys serve as de facto guardians of the neighborhood community, helping to ensure that anyone visiting doesn’t get too unruly. They’ll even help little old ladies cross the street or provide expert-level guidance to anyone lost, customer or otherwise. Inside the store, the “hipster barista” meme has been taken to wholly new levels, as there was a row of budtenders decked out in white butchers’ aprons, wielding giant butchers’ knives to chop up flower into your desired quantities. The Strawberry Haze at Boerejongens ran circles around everything else I procured, outside of a decent Blueberry Haze I found near Vondelpark.

Next time you’re ready to enjoy a toke as you navigate Amsterdam’s canals, do yourself a favor and avoid the touristy areas like the plague. The further you’re away from the Red Light District (and I’m sad to say, shops like The Bulldog), the closer you are to finding buds that won’t just scratch your itch but will truly impress you.

Photo by Jinsoo Choi on Unsplash

“A total of $1.5 billion has been spent on medical marijuana since the state’s first dispensary opened in May 2019.”

By Sonny Albarado, Arkansas Advocate

Arkansans spent $10 million more on medical marijuana so far this year than during the first eight months of 2024, putting the state on track to exceed a record set two years ago, according to the state finance department.

From January through August, Arkansans bought $193.1 million in medical marijuana products from the state’s dispensaries, compared with $182.5 million in the same period last year, according to a press release from the state Department of Finance and Administration.

“With daily sales averaging about $800,000 in 2025, we are on track to surpass the 2023 sales record of $283 million,” department spokesperson Scott Hardin said.

There has also been a significant year-to-year increase in the number of pounds of cannabis sold, Hardin said, with the 2025 total at 52,292 pounds.

The state collected $5.38 million in tax revenue from medical marijuana in July and August, bringing the total tax haul so far this year to $21.57 million.

Patients spent $24,262,201 in July, purchasing 6,721 pounds, and $24,647,170 in August, buying 6,778 pounds, according to the finance department.

Suite 443 in Hot Springs and Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood sold the most medical marijuana in both July and August, according to the press release. Suite 443 sold 1,419.6 pounds total for both months. Natural Relief sold 1,317.7 pounds over July and August.

“A total of $1.5 billion has been spent on medical marijuana since the state’s first dispensary opened in May 2019,” Hardin said.

The Arkansas Department of Health reports 109,060 active patient cards. The Medical Marijuana Commission has licensed 38 dispensaries but only 36 are operating, Hardin said. The license of one of the closed dispensaries was revoked by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last year, and its owner’s appeal of the revocation remains before the courts.

This story was first published by Arkansas Advocate.