Lawsuit Accuses San Diego-Based Soap Company Of Fostering Drug Culture

Here are the morning’s top stories on Tuesday, February 18, 2025…

• In recent decades, Dr. Bronner’s evolved from a niche soap company to a powerhouse home brand with a worldwide following. But a recent wrongful death lawsuit makes some troubling allegations against the San Diego County-based company. The lawsuit alleges the company has turned a blind eye to an internal culture of drug use.
• Riverside County’s firebrand sheriff  is the first high-profile Republican to join the 2026 race for California governor. Chad Bianco kicked off his campaign on Monday at a banquet hall in Riverside.

Family Claims Dr. Bronner’s Fosters A Risky Culture Of Drug Use That Led To Employee’s Accidental Overdose Death

Since its founding 77 years ago, Dr. Bronner’s evolved from a niche soap company favored by hippies and homemakers to a powerhouse brand that trades on the progressive ideals of sustainability, free expression and social justice.

The family-run company based in Vista saw its annual revenues balloon from $4 million to $200 million in the last 25 years. Known for its bottles and bars of soap wrapped in micro-font musings about love and world peace, Dr. Bronner’s can be found on the shelves of supermarkets and drugstores nationwide.

In recent years, the current generation of Bronner family executives has taken the company’s progressive ethos to another level by openly embracing psychedelic drugs. Since 2019, Dr. Bronner’s has contributed more than $14 million to psychedelics research and drug policy reform. The company’s social media pages are filled with posts touting the medicinal and spiritual potential of hallucinogens, from psilocybin to ketamine to MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

But a wrongful death lawsuit filed in December alleges the company has also fostered a risky culture of drug use among some leaders and employees, claiming they routinely use potent psychedelics as an unregulated form of “healing” and for recreational purposes. The complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court was brought by the family of Denise Lozano, a former Dr. Bronner’s employee who, in 2022, died of an accidental overdose at the age of 50.

Riverside County Sheriff Officially Announces Bid For Governor

A sheriff from Riverside County is the first high-profile Republican to join the 2026 race for California governor. Chad Bianco kicked off his campaign on Monday at a banquet hall in Riverside.

Bianco has been a fierce critic of Governor Gavin Newsom for years and blames him and other Democrats for what he says is the state’s decline. He ticked through a laundry list of his grievances to a room full of his supporters. “Rising crime, the cost of living, the price of food, gas, electricity over regulation, a failed education system, nonexistent or failed infrastructure over taxation and reckless and wasteful government spending are driving hard working Californians to other states,” said Bianco.

Bianco has served as sheriff for six years. On his watch, deaths in his jails increased— though he deflects responsibility. During the pandemic, he would not enforce the state’s COVID mandates. He joins a crowded field of Democratic candidates.