California high court recognizes legality of dispensaries, but says localities may ban them

Posted on May 7th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

CaliforniaThe California Supreme Court ruled May 6 in the case City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center that local governments may ban the distribution of medical marijuana and are not preempted by state law by doing so. However, the court also recognized the legality of dispensaries, more than 1,000 of which currently exist and operate throughout the state. More than 50 localities in California officially regulate the distribution of medical marijuana.

Reefer Rabbis

Posted on May 3rd, 2013 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , .

Cannabis ChassidisHere's a little experiment to determine immediately if you will like the book Cannabis Chassidis: The Ancient and Emerging Torah of Drugs, now available from Brooklyn's anarchist-oriented Autonomedia. Author Yoseph Leib has determined that the three letters in the Hebrew word for "smoke," ashan (ayin, shin and nun), work out numerologically to... 420. Get it? Mazel tov, dude!

SCOTUS rules for immigrant in cannabis case

Posted on April 26th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

"The social sharing of a small amount of marijuana" by immigrants lawfully in the US does not require their automatic deportation, the Supreme Court ruled April 23. "Sharing a small amount of marijuana for no remuneration, let alone possession with intent to do so, does not fit easily into the everyday understanding of trafficking, which ordinarily means some sort of commercial dealing," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a seven-justice majority. 

Gunfire erupts at Denver 420 Rally

Posted on April 21st, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

420Gunfire erupted at Colorado's annual 420 Rally—the first since the state voted to legalize cannabis least year—injuring two people and scattering a crowd of thousands in Denver's Civic Center Park. A man and woman were shot in the leg, and a third grazed with a bullet. Both victims are in their 20s. They were taken to Denver Health Medical Center. Police asked attendees for possible photo or video footage of the shootings, and had no immediate motive. Witnesses described a jovial scene quickly turning to panic. Some thought firecrackers were going off, until a man fell bleeding, his dog also shot.

Cannabis eradication drops by over 60%: DEA

Posted on April 11th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

cannabisThe number of cannabis plants eradicated by law enforcement has dropped over the past years from a record high of over 10 million plants in 2009 and 2010 to under 4 million in 2012, according to newly released statistics. DEA figures put the 2012 total at 3,933,950. DEA officials attribute the decline in part to the budget cutbacks in California, which resulted in "the decreased availability of local law enforcement personnel to assist in eradication efforts."

Flawed medical marijuana bill passes Maryland legislature

Posted on April 8th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

medical marijuana The Maryland Senate voted 42-4 on April 8 to pass a new medical marijuana bill— but patient advocates say that HB1101 is more symbolic than practical. HB1101, already passed by the House of Delegates, would extend the current affirmative defense for patients who are arrested and prosecuted under state law, but would provide no way for patients to obtain their medication. Agreeing with the sentiment of advocates, the nonpartisan Maryland Department of Legislative Services issued a fiscal note last month that questioned the bill's effectiveness, casting doubt on whether it will ever meet legislators' expectations.

Truth-telling Iraq vet is medical cannabis user

Posted on April 7th, 2013 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , .

Tomas YoungTomas Young, a disabled Iraq war veteran in Kansas City, Mo., made fame last month when he announced his intention to end his own life in a scathing open letter to George Bush and Dick Cheney. In the letter, online at TruthDig, Young says he joined the army out of a sense of duty after 9-11—and felt betrayed by his deployment to Iraq:

SCOTUS upholds Fourth Amendment in drug-sniff case

Posted on March 27th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

The US Supreme Court ruled March 26 in Florida v. Jardines that an alert from a drug-sniffing dog on a suspect's front porch constitutes a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The ruling upheld the Florida Supreme Court, which held that evidence gathered pursuant to search warrant obtained based on the positive alert from the dog must be suppressed because the dog's presence itself constituted a warrantless search. The case stemmed from a 2006 incident in which Miami police and DEA agents, acting on a tip, place the home of Joelis Jardines under warrantless surveillance. Following the canine alert, a warrant was obtained, which uncovered Jardines' indoor grow operaiton.

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