Global Ganja Report

As Barack Obama pressed the flesh at a fundraiser in Oakland's historic Fox Theater July 23, hundreds of medical marijuana supporters rallied nearby to oppose the Justice Department crackdown on California's dispensaries—and particularly to support the city's Harborside Health Center, now facing federal forfeiture proceedings. Speakers at the rally included many patients who said cannabis had helped them—and Stephen DeAngelo, Harborside's executive director, who called for a halt to actions against dispensaries and said the Justice Department should instead focus on the violent crime that plagues Oakland. "We are here for every medical cannabis patient around the world," DeAngelo said. Later, the cannabis advocates joined Occupy Oakland and assorted anti-war activists to block the intersection of 19th Street and Broadway. Police reported two arrests. (San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, July 23)

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... 

Mark Bagdasarian, a cannabis dispensary owner in Clovis, Calif, already facing possession and distribution charges, was hit with federal money laundering charges July 16. Federal prosecutors say Bagdasarian laundered money through ATMs at his Buds 4 Life dispensaries in Tarpey Village and Friant. Bagdasarian pleaded not guilty to the new charges. Prosecutors say Bagdasarian would take cash from cannabis sales—illegal under federal law—and load it into the ATMs at the dispensaries, to be withdrawn by customers.

On July 17, US Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) and 18 co-sponsors introduced HR 6134, the "Truth in Trials" Act—bipartisan legislation to allow defendants in federal criminal prosecutions the ability to use medical marijuana evidence at trial. Because of a June 2005 US Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, the government has the discretion to enforce federal marijuana laws even in states that have passed medical marijuana laws. The Raich ruling also allows federal prosecutors to exclude all evidence concerning medical use or state law compliance in federal trials, virtually guaranteeing the convictions of medical marijuana patients and providers.

Potent rat poisons used on large-scale cannabis grows on forest lands throughout California may be killing off a rare forest carnivore, according to a study released July 13. "This could be a game changer," said Arcata city councilman Mark Wheetley of the study prepared by UC Davis biologists documenting the deaths of fishers—reclusive members of the Mustelid family that are candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act. "I think this whole study should serve as a wake up call for the public to understand the magnitude of the impact of what's being done to what we consider sacred, protected public lands," added Wheetley, who also works as a biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game.

A July 12 shootout between a robber and a resident of an East Oakland house led to the discovery of a suspected illegal cannabis grow—that police valued at $200,000—and the arrest of three people. The robber escaped, but those in the house were all arrested after police responded to reports of gunfire. No one was injured in the incident. Police found 249 potted cannabis plants and trash bags filled with about 20 pounds of harvested herb in a search of the house. Lighting, ventilation and power systems were recovered, as well as scales and packing materials, police said.  

California's most well-known medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center, was served with a civil complaint for "forfeiture of property" on July 9 for their locations in  both Oakland and San Jose. Employees found court papers announcing asset forfeiture proceedings against Harborside's landlords taped to the doors at the two locations the following morning. The Oakland dispensary has been fully permitted and operating since 2006 without incident. The forfeiture action is against the "third-party" property owner, Real Property and Improvements, and was filed by US Attorney Melinda Haag, who last October announced with the other US Attorneys an escalated campaign against medical marijuana dispensaries and growers.

Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief July 9 in a federal appeal brought by California dispensary operator Charlie C. Lynch. Lynch's case drew a lot of attention during his 2008 trial and June 2009 sentencing under the Obama Justice Department. Though Lynch was supported by local officials and the Chamber of Commerce in Morro Bay, where his state-compliant Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC) was located, the DEA raided and shut down CCCC in 2007 anyway. A hearing in the Lynch appeal is expected this winter.