LOS ANGELES — The High Times Cannabis Cup, which features hip-hop stars, pot sales and a namesake produce competition, survived 30 years of the war on drugs only to face a more daunting challenge: bureaucracy in the era of legalization.
The San Bernardino, California, City Council late Wednesday denied High Times' application the needed approval to run the event, one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
The three-day pot festival in San Bernardino was at the last-minute mercy of state and local officials after new state regulations on marijuana, designed in part to implement the will of voters who wanted recreational cannabis in 2016, kicked in on Jan. 1. Since then, approval from local jurisdictions has been needed before the state will green light such gatherings.
