Michael R. Blood

Associated Press

This Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, photo shows the new Kingpen packaging, center, flanked by the previous packaging in Los Angeles. Bootleggers eager to profit off unsuspecting consumers are mimicking popular vape brands, pairing replica packaging churned out in Chinese factories with untested, and possibly adulterated, cannabis oil produced in the state's vast underground market. As a result of the bootleggers, the company had to change and innovate their new packaging.

As Illnesses Spread, Fake Vape Gear Sells

The deceptive rip-offs on the street could be linked to an emerging public health crisis.

California Pot Regulators Struggling

The agency overseeing California's legal marijuana market is struggling to hire staff and set a strategy for the nation's largest cannabis economy, an audit found.

In this April 15, 2019, file photo, a vendor makes change for a marijuana customer at Rev-Up a cannabis marketplace in Los Angeles. An alliance of large cannabis businesses in the growing global marketplace has a message for the public: We're good corporate citizens. The 45-member Global Cannabis Partnership that includes Canopy Growth Corp. and other major companies issued guidelines Tuesday, June 18, 2019, aimed at minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting ethical conduct and responsible pot use.

Weed Industry Sets Goals

The cannabis marketplace "is Wall Street now," said one expert.

In this Oct. 20, 2018, file photo marijuana clone plants are displayed for sale by Interstate 5 Farms at the cannabis-themed Kushstock Festival at Adelanto, Calif. When California voters broadly legalized marijuana, they were promised that a vast computer platform would closely monitor products moving through the new market. Sixteen months after the start of broad legal sales, just a few hundred operators are entering data into the track-and-trace system.

CA Pot Market Not Traced, Tracked

As of last month, just nine retail outlets were entering data into the network established under an estimated $60 million state contract.

In this June 27, 2017 file photo, the proprietor of a medical marijuana dispensary prepares his monthly tax payment, over $40,000 in cash, at his Los Angeles store. Congress on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, was urged to fully open the doors of the nation's banking system to the legal marijuana industry, a change that supporters say would reduce the risk of crime and resolve a litany of problems for pot companies from paying taxes to getting a loan.

Congress Urged to Open Banks to Marijuana

Most banks shun money from the cannabis industry for fear it could expose them to trouble from the federal government, which still considers marijuana illegal.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, photo, edible marijuana samples are set aside for evaluation at Cannalysis, a cannabis testing laboratory, in Santa Ana, Calif. Nearly 20 percent of the marijuana and marijuana products tested in California for potency and purity have failed, according to state data provided to The Associated Press.

Many Marijuana Products Failing Safety Tests

The testing has been especially tough on cannabis-infused cookies, candies and tinctures.

In this Jan. 6, 2018, file photo, an employee stocks cannabis at a store shortly before its first day of recreational marijuana sales in San Francisco. California cities on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, objected to a proposed change in state rules that they say would allow unchecked home marijuana deliveries in places that have banned local pot sales.

CA Could Reshape Pot Rules

Temporary rules have governed sales, growing and manufacturing since Jan 1. The state is now considering changes to those rules.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for photos with employees as he leaves the offices of Salesforce on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 in San Francisco.

Trudeau on Jobs, NAFTA

He said 9 million jobs in America are tied to trade and investment with Canada, and that both countries are "winning."

In this photo taken Nov. 28, 2017, Brad Eckenweiler, chief executive of Lifestyle Delivery Systems, poses for a photo while holding cannabis buds from his freezer that will be used to manufacture concentrates in Adelanto, Calif. Lifestyle is what’s known as a “vertically integrated company,” with a hand in every aspect of the business, from producing organic seeds to transportation and over-the-counter sales.

The Fight to Survive in California Pot

Some fear corporate-level businesses will eventually doom mom-and-pop growers and sellers

This Friday, Nov. 3, 2017 photo shows jars of medical marijuana on display on the counter of Western Caregivers Medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. Consumers eager for the coming of California's legal recreational marijuana market should be ready for sticker shock. An array of new taxes and fees will be attached to pot sales, driving up prices.

Sticker Shock in Pot Market

It could be up to a 70 percent jump in price.

In this April 23, 2017, file photo, large jars of marijuana are on display for sale at the Cali Gold Genetics booth during the High Times Cannabis Cup in San Bernardino, Calif. California is kicking off recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1, 2018, but there will be plenty of confusion as the new market takes shape. Some places are banning sales, while only a small number appear ready to issue licenses.

Confusion Surrounds Legal Pot

Ready or not, California kicks off recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1. And, mostly, it's not.

A sign on the chimney of a home warns looters Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, after it was destroyed by wildfires in Glen Ellen, Calif. California fire officials have reported significant progress on containing wildfires that have ravaged parts of Northern California.

Wildfires Cause $1B in Damage

The fires ravaged 7,000 buildings.