It’s August 2018. You’re growing cannabis outside your house in rural Vermont. You wake up one morning and find that someone stole your weed plants. Whaddya do?

Call the cops!

That’s right: About six weeks after cannabis legalization, Vermont State Police got the agency's first report of stolen pot plants.



"We investigate this theft really as we would the theft of any reported stolen property," Vermont State Police spokesman Adam Silverman told WCAX-TV.

The victim in this case was East Charleston resident Joshua Newcity, who woke up August 16 to find four cannabis plants had gone missing, the Caledonian Record reported. The grower kept two plants behind a seven-foot-tall privacy fence and two others by his front door.

“Some people believe I shouldn’t publicly share this, but by sweeping it under the rug, we enable these thieves to continue doing this, or worse,” Newcity wrote in a Facebook post about the thefts.

Whoever helps Newcity track down the thieves will have a bud for life.

“If anyone sees some brand new foliage at their neighbors house, please know I’m offering a reward of ALL PLANTS RECOVERED simply to press charges of theft against those who almost got our dogs killed by leaving the gate open after stealing from us,” Newcity wrote. “You'll be glad to know, the dogs were recovered safely.”

Here are some other cannabis stories we followed this week:

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August 19: Sure, the lede of this one — filled with the usual clichés about the 802 — will make any Vermonter cringe. But read on (or listen) to learn more about our state’s growing hemp industry. [Jon Kalish, NPR]

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August 20: As cannabis legalization forges ahead across the U.S., some worry about the public health implications. Are there deleterious effects associated with nearly unfettered legalization? There’s apparently been a rise in those suffering from self-described cannabis-use disorder. [Annie Lowrey, the Atlantic]

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August 20: Wells Fargo closed the campaign bank account of a Florida Democrat running for state agriculture commissioner who has advocated for medical marijuana. [Emily Flitter, New York Times]

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August 22: The governor’s Advisory Commission on Marijuana spent two hours Monday grappling with cannabis tax policy ideas. Among the proposals is a local option tax that would enable Vermont towns that host cannabis businesses to earn a little extra dough. [Kit Norton, VTDigger]

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August 22: A group of Colchester school administrators went back to class themselves this month to learn about spotting drug use in students. [Sasha Goldstein, Seven Days]

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August 23: A bill introduced in the U.S. House would allow federal employees who live in states with legalized medical marijuana to use pot as registered patients. [Matt Laslo, Rolling Stone]

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August 23: A cannabis supply chain has sprouted in California, which legalized weed January 1. [Erica E. Phillips, Wall Street Journal]

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August 23: Here’s a nice roundup of all the beer/cannabis mashups in the works. [Clint Rainey, Grub Street]

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August 23: Cannabis use among middle and high school students in California continued to drop in 2016 and 2017, according to a state-funded study. [Martin Espinoza, the Press Democrat]

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August 23: The California legislature passed a bill that would “erase or reduce” tens of thousands of cannabis-related criminal convictions. The legislation awaits the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown. [Paul Elias, Associated Press]

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August 24: Illegal cannabis farmers are growing their crops in national forests, resulting in huge amounts of environmental damage, according to officials. [John Blackstone, CBS News]

Got a story you want to see in our our weekly roundup? Send an email to cannabeat@sevendaysvt.com.