Global Ganja Report

In response to public comments made against marijuana reform by former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, patient advocates wrote to Kennedy inviting him to attend a national conference on medical marijuana scheduled for Feb. 22-25 at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington DC. Kennedy announced on Jan. 9 the formation of a new group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which claims to take a different approach than either legalization advocates or government drug warriors. However, advocates argue that SAM's supposed pro-public health approach ignores the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant and is simply using a new narrative to make the same arguments used by marijuana opponents for years.

On Jan. 7, Chief Federal Magistrate Maria-Elena James in San Francisco ruled in favor of Harborside Health Center, and denied motions by Harborside's landlords asking the court to order an immediate halt of medical cannabis sales at their properties in Oakland and San Jose. Judge James also declined to grant a motion from the City of Oakland to enjoin the federal government's legal efforts to close Harborside, but scheduled a hearing later this month for further arguments in Oakland's suit.

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.

Police can't pull you over and arrest you just because you gave them the finger, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled Jan. 3. In a 14-page opinion, the court found that the "ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity." John Swartz and his wife Judy Mayton-Swartz had sued two police officers who arrested Swartz in May 2006 after he flipped off an officer who was using a radar device at an intersection in St. Johnsville, NY. Swartz was charged with a violation of New York's disorderly conduct statute, although the charges were dropped on speedy trial grounds.

Three medical marijuana groups have teamed up to support Mendocino County officials in their effort to fight a sweeping federal subpoena filed in October, seeking "any and all records" for the county's medical marijuana cultivation program, known as County Code 9.31. Last month, Mendocino County filed a motion in San Francisco federal court to quash the Justice Department's subpoena, and on Jan. 2 Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the Emerald Growers Association (EGA), and California NORML filed a joint amicus "friend of the court" brief in an attempt to protect the private patient records being sought. A hearing in the case is scheduled for 2 PM on Jan. 4, before federal District Court Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco.

Total area planted with coca in Bolivia dropped by up to 13% last year, according to separate reports by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Bolivia stepped up efforts to eradicate unauthorized coca plantings, and reported an increase in seizures of cocaine and cocaine base—even as the Evo Morales government expanded areas where coca can be grown legally. "It's fascinating to look at a country that kicked out the United States ambassador and the DEA, and the expectation on the part of the United States is that drug war efforts would fall apart," Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, told the New York Times. Instead, she said, Bolivia's approach is "showing results." 

Arizona's 2010 voter-approved state law authorizing "the local cultivation, sale, and use, of medical marijuana" is not preempted by the federal Controlled Substances Act, according to the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County. The ruling, issued earlier this month by Judge Michael Gordon, allows for the establishment of state-licensed medicinal cannabis dispensaries within Arizona—the first of which opened its doors last week. State-licensed medical marijuana facilities now operate in several states, including Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Maine.

The Obama administration will be going toe-to-toe in federal court Dec. 20 at 10 AM with the City of Oakland and California's largest medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center. US Attorney Melinda Haag filed forfeiture proceedings in July against Harborside's landlords to force the dispensary to close its two locations in Oakland and San Jose. Then, in October, the City of Oakland filed its own legal action against Haag and her boss, US Attorney General Eric Holder. Harborside serves thousands of patients, pays local, state and federal taxes, and has been legally operating in Oakland since 2006.