A 2006 Drug Enforcement Administration raid on a medical marijuana dispensary in city limits—that was obeying state law and paying state sales taxes—that landed both co-owners in federal prison set the tone.
Judging by the city’s books, promoting weed was the smartest move.
Chandra Ann Levy, the daughter of Robert and Susan Levy, just finished an intership with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was expected to return to Modesto for her college graduation, when she disappeared April 30, 2000.
And we’ve been promoting Modesto, everything from the almond blossom cruise to Modesto Loves Dogs to Graffiti Summer,” as Todd Aaronson, CEO of Visit Modesto, told the newspaper.
Instead, for now, it’s more “educational,” city officials said—which, in a city that’s relatively recently embraced its legal cannabis industry, is probably a smart move.
I’m an award-winning investigative reporter and I’ve covered the legalization movement and the cannabis industry with a political economy lens for more than a decade.