In the past few days Calaveras and El Dorado counties made huge marijuana busts.

The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department hauled out just over 4,000 pounds of product in a drying room during a raid this week, with around 750 plants being buried on-site and most taken to the landfill.

About 1,000 pounds of processed marijuana was destroyed, burying 500, while also keeping a portion for the district attorney to use as evidence for the case.

Calaveras Sheriff Rick DiBasilio said they used around 34 people to make the seize, including police from nearby counties and people from the county road department.

That was for one raid.

Californian legalisation informs global environmental and economic policy

The 8th of November will be a day of great reckoning in the U.S, mainly for the fact that a new President will be decided, but also for the fact that it may be a milestone in the way cannabis is viewed in the U.S and potentially across the globe. With four U.S states already having legalised recreational use of the plant, California following suit would be a huge indicator that the U.S Federal government’s stance on prohibition of marijuana will soon be coming to an end.

With five states voting on marijuana legalization next month, this is a pivotal year for marijuana policy no matter which way the contests turn out. The results will determine whether marijuana reform gains momentum heading into the next presidential administration or whether the pace of change will slow.

Even by the usual standards of politics, this election’s campaign against marijuana legalization has made strange bedfellows. The largest donors to the various anti-weed political groups around the country include a billionaire casino tycoon, a woman who believes in reefer madness, a drug-crusading former U.S. ambassador, cops, prison guards, booze merchants, and a pharma company that sells the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

To the red-and-blue map of American politics, it may be time to add green. The movement to legalize marijuana, the country’s most popular illicit drug, will take a giant leap on Election Day if California and four other states vote to allow recreational cannabis, as polls suggest they may.

The map of where pot is legal could include the entire West Coast and a block of states reaching from the Pacific to Colorado, raising a stronger challenge to the federal government’s ban on the drug.

In addition to California, Massachusetts and Maine both have legalization initiatives on the ballot next month that seem likely to pass. Arizona and Nevada are also voting on recreational marijuana, with polls showing Nevada voters evenly split.

Good Chemistry Nurseries, a leading producer of Cannabis products and related services, will offer Cannabis industry insights at the following events over the next four months. Drawing from the company’s experience in cultivation, consumer education, and innovative best practices, Good Chemistry Nurseries executives and team members will participate as moderators, exhibitors, and speakers at a series of public educational and outreach events listed below.

If you still have questions about legalizing marijuana under Proposition 64, tune in to the Register's Facebook page at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, for a live Q&A with editor Andre Mouchard and reporter Brooke Edwards Staggs. Email questions ahead of time to bstaggs@scng.com or ask them live via Facebook during the chat.

Proposition 64, on its surface, poses a simple question: Should people be free to smoke pot in California?

As David Chao walks into the glass conference room, there’s nothing unusual about him as an investor. He’s tall, middle-aged with dark hair and clutching the expected techie accessory: a smartphone.

But there’s one unusual detail about Chao: He’s a medical marijuana user.

Chao first gave cannabis a try a couple of years ago, after a cycle of painful stomach and lung problems he couldn’t relieve through traditional medicine. One day, as they sat around playing video games, pal Blake Krikorian, a co-founder of Sling Media who recently died of a heart attack, suggested Chao look into alternative treatments such as medical marijuana.

Edibles producer Spot is trying to keep first-time marijuana eaters from biting off more than they can chew.

"Well, you know the Maureen Dowd story," sighed Tim Moxey. "And it's just not a good story."

True, Dowd's experience was less than ideal: She ate a couple bites of a pot-infused candy bar, then curled into a ball in her Denver hotel room and had a panic attack. The next day she discovered the bar was supposed to have been broken into 16 pieces, not munched on bite by bite.

Max Groso, budtender at P.S.A. Organica in Palm Springs, discusses the concerns and hopes for Proposition 64, or the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on the November ballot. (July 21, 2016) Lauren Hernandez/The Desert Sun

When voters step up to the polls Nov. 8, they'll determine the future of recreational marijuana statewide. There are strong feelings from those on both sides of the aisle, but while some see legalization as a step forward for California, others say it could be the beginning of the end.