CalMatters: Social Security and Medicare benefits will keep flowing in a government shutdown, but federal employees will be working without pay and delays likely will occur across many services.

CalMatters: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill to roll back taxes on recreational weed in an effort to give some relief to an industry that has struggled to supersede its illicit counterpart since voters legalized marijuana almost 10 years ago.

CalMatters: With the Bay-Delta watershed in the throes of an ecological crisis, California’s water regulators Thursday unveiled several controversial options for managing the heart of the state’s water supply. 

CalMatters: Psychedelics are having a moment. A nationwide push to bring magic mushrooms and other psychedelics into the mainstream is gaining traction, and some Californians want in.

Many longtime advocates believe all weed use has a medical purpose and consider it immoral that high taxes and a lack of dispensaries have made it inaccessible to many patients.

The compound, which is available in the form of tinctures and chewable treats, is being used to treat a variety of issues, including anxiety, pain and seizures.

Code for America’s Clear My Record initiative has been working to automate the record expungement process at the county level, chiefly regarding marijuana convictions in California, since 2016.

The study’s findings show that as the number of dispensaries increase, the number of opioid deaths drop.

Small cannabis farmers are contributing to the regenerative agriculture movement by cultivating polycultures rather than growing just one crop.

Davina Smith hopes to help set the course for the department’s future.