Global Ganja Report

The Obama administration's aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a crescendo this month, with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to federal authorities to serve out sentences of up to five years in prison, and one federal trial in Montana currently scheduled for Jan. 14. Two of the three people being sentenced in the coming month—Montana cultivator Chris Williams and Los Angeles-area dispensary operator Aaron Sandusky—face five and ten years to life, respectively.

Federal authorities on Sept. 25 took legal action against over 70 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles County— sending warning letters to 68  properties, filing forfeiture suits against three, and serving search warrants at another three.  "Over the past several years, we have seen an explosion of commercial marijuana stores—an explosion that is being driven by the massive profits associated with marijuana distribution," said US Attorney André Birotte Jr in a statement.  "As today's operations make clear, the sale and distribution of marijuana violates federal law, and we intend to enforce the law. Even those stores not targeted today should understand that they cannot continue to profit in violation of the law." The statement said the targets include "all known marijuana stores in the Eagle Rock and downtown areas of Los Angeles, as well as the single store known to be operating in Huntington Park." (LAT, LA Weekly, Sept. 25)

With plenty of time to spare, medical marijuana advocates filed more than 50,000 signatures Aug. 29 in an effort to overturn a recently passed ban on dispensaries throughout the city. Despite an outcry from patient advocates, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an outright ban last month on medical marijuana distribution within the city limits. The ban came after the city failed over a more than four-year period to develop regulations suitable for providing medical marijuana to the tens of thousands of area patients.

The California Supreme Court dismissed review Aug. 22 of an important appellate court ruling affecting medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. In throwing out the controversial decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach, the high court rejected the notion that federal law preempts some forms of dispensary regulations. The Pack decision has been used by several municipalities, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, to suspend or ban outright the distribution of medical marijuana. However, yesterday's dismissal of the Pack decision throws into question the viability of such bans.

On July 25, the Los Angeles, the City Counted voted 14-0 to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Each of the 762 dispensaries that have registered with the city are to be sent a letter ordering them to shut down immediately under threat of legal action. Cannabis advocates packed the council chambers and met the vote with jeers; more than a dozen LAPD officers were called in to quell them. Under the ban, medical patients and their caregivers will be able to grow and share cannabis in small groups of three or less. In a seemingly contradictory move, the council also voted to instruct city staff to draw up an ordinance that would allow a group of about 170 dispensaries that registered with the city several years ago to remain open. (LAT, July 24)

The fourth bi-annual Kush Expo opened July 21 at the Anaheim Convention Center—an exposition of the latest in medical marijuana trends and technology, as well as an unabashed celebration of cannabis culture. This Expo was by far the largest, with more than 150 vendors, and over 14,000 attendees. Exhibitions ran the spectrum from a Los Angeles laboratory that tests homegrown cannabis strains for THC levels and for pesticides, to a Hot Kush Girl contest (OC Register, July 22) But as entrepreneurs and revelers schmoozed and toked in the convention center, police repression and angry protests were sweeping the streets of Anaheim... 

A June 19 raid on a Long Beach cannabis dispensary is under investigation after a video was released showing officers smashing surveillance cameras and stepping on an employee. More than a dozen police raided THC Downtown Collective on Atlantic Boulevard. The two-minute video posted to YouTube shows a man who has been identified as employee Dorian Brooks surrendering to police and being ordered to the floor. One of the officers is seen stepping on his back before placing him in handcuffs. The video, recorded at an off-site location, then cuts to an officer pointing at the camera before another looks up and smashes the lens. "They noticed there was a camera that was on the wall right above my head, so they proceeded to smash it with a metal rod," said Brooks, adding that the camera shattered on him. "I wasn't able to protect myeslf because my hands were cuffed."

The Second District Court of Appeal in California issued a landmark decision July 2 in County of Los Angeles v. Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective (AMCC), affirming the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries under state law, rejecting bans imposed by municipalities. In particular, the court held that Los Angeles County's "complete ban" on medical marijuana is "preempted" by state law and therefore void. The AMCC decision reverses a preliminary injunction granted to the county by the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2011.