The Refinery

Remember the purpose of why we do what we do. Never forget what this industry is about vs. what some people have tried to make it about. Choose to show up to resist. For what is right. For a plants and persons rights.

For 55 years, Hash Bash has been a living act of resistance. It began as a smoke-in, a direct response to criminalization rooted not in public safety, but in control. When President Nixon announced the War on Drugs, it wasn’t subtle. It targeted people of color, anti-war activists, and dissenters. Cannabis was the excuse. Power was the goal.

Sound familiar? History doesn’t just repeat itself, it escalates. Since the War on Drugs began in 1971, incarceration for drug offenses exploded. Tens of thousands became hundreds of thousands. By 2020, more than 1.15 million people were behind bars for drug-related offenses in the U.S., nearly 400,000 for possession alone. Even now after legalization campaigns and billion-dollar industries, over 40,000 people remain incarcerated for cannabis charges, many in states where cannabis is legal today.

That contradiction is the reason this protest exists.

Hash Bash is sacred ground. For five decades, people from every corner of the country have traveled here to stand in solidarity to demand the release of cannabis prisoners and to confront racism, injustice, and selective enforcement head-on. Generations show up. Elders who risked arrest before it was “safe.” Youth who refused to inherit silence. Different cultures, genders, backgrounds connected by a plant that has always brought people together.

Let’s be clear! events may happen around the gathering, but they are not the protest. The protest is the demonstration. The protest is your voice. The protest is showing up informed, intentional, and respectful of the history you’re stepping into.

Last year, volunteers worked endless hours to secure funding just to keep this protest alive. This year will be no different. That’s why your presence matters. Not for optics. For impact.

So leave the nonsense at the door.
Bring signs.
Do your homework.
Show up with purpose.

This is a moment to gather as a community and to remember why we still have to.

Hash Bash takes place at the University of Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor, always on the first Saturday in April.

This year: April 4th.
Come with respect.
Come with resolve.
Come like people have for decades—because the fight isn’t over.

Cannabis is not a crime. And neither is caring enough to protest like it matters.

A large population study using data from the UK Biobank has found that lifetime cannabis use is associated with larger brain volumes in regions rich in cannabinoid receptors among adults aged 40 to 70.

Researchers analyzed brain imaging and cognitive data from over 500,000 participants, making this one of the largest studies ever to examine cannabis use and brain health. The analysis found that lifetime users showed larger volumes in areas such as the hippocampus, amygdala, caudate, and putamen, regions involved in memory, emotion, and learning. Notably, even individuals who reported cannabis use limited to adolescence showed larger volumes compared to non-users.

The study also observed associations between greater lifetime use and better learning ability, faster processing speed, and improved short-term memory in later adulthood. However, researchers noted that these relationships differed between men and women, highlighting the importance of biological s*x in brain research.

Scientists suggest these findings may be linked to modulation of the endocannabinoid system, reduced neuroinflammation, and improved neural resilience. They stress that the data are observational, meaning they show association rather than causation, and individual responses likely depend on genetics, timing, and overall life context.

Do you think long-term brain health depends more on biology than commonly held assumptions?

🔗 https://l.mlive.com/yuzejd
The lawsuit filed by opponents of Michigan’s 24% wholesale ma*****na tax that took effect Jan. 1 may continue, a Court of Claims judge ruled.