Global Ganja Report

Fifteen Members of Congress sent a letter May 21 to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to issue "written guidance for financial institutions," that would commit the Department to not targeting institutions whose account holders are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

One day after robbers struck the South Bay Cannamed Patient Association in San Jose, Calif., on May 20, holding employees and customers at gunpoint, the local Medical Cannabis Collectives Coalition called on the City Council to act swiftly in drafting a medical marijuana ordinance. Stephen De Angelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center in San Jose and a spokesman for the coalition, said that in a legally regulated environment, collectives would be required to take basic security measures.

A North San Diego County medical marijuana provider, James Stacy, whose Vista dispensary was raided on Sept. 9 by a multi-agency narcotics task force, will be the first such case to go to trial since the Justice Department issued its new enforcement policy in October. Stacy's trial date is to be scheduled this week at a hearing where Stacy said he will argue that under the new policy he's entitled to admit evidence of compliance with state law—something routinely denied federal defendants.

Four California medical marijuana users who argue that bans on Orange County pot clinics violate the Americans with Disabilities Act appealed their case to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Matthew Pappas, attorney for the users, said he will argue the case based on an interpretation of the equal protection clause in the 5th Amendment, and pointed to a 2009 congressional decision based on the clause that lifted a ban on medical marijuana in Washington DC.

A crowd of over 150 assembled May 14 at the Little Lake Grange in Willits, Calif., for the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board's community forum. The event, entitled, "Medical Cannabis: State of Our Laws, Now and in the Future" featured County Supervisor John Pinches and Sheriff Tom Allman, as well as physicians, attorneys and activists. MMMAB advisory panel member Pebbles Trippet responded to audience questions fielded by supervisorial candidate and moderator Dan Hamburg. Following the forum, the three candidates for District Attorney answered questions.

Rick Morse, operator of the Medmar Clinic in Fresno, CA, is behind bars after a judge ruled that he violated a court order not to sell cannabis. During a court appearance May 14, Morse told Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Franson that he was still distributing cannabis. With the admission, Morse was handcuffed and ordered to spend 15 days in jail. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Judge Franson also approved a request by Fresno's deputy city attorney to file a motion to shut down the dispensary. (AP, May 14)

Cannabis Medical Solutions Inc., a leading company specializing in both physical-world and online payment solutions and financial security products for medical marijuana dispensaries, on May 13 announced that the company is in negotiations to acquire and open at least two medical marijuana dispensaries within the state of California.

A judge on May 7 ruled that officials in San Jose, Calif., may continue to threaten landlords of medical marijuana cooperatives with fines of up to $2,500 a day—a practice that has resulted in the eviction of at least one cannabis club. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy ruled against the medical marijuana collectives, citing a lack of evidence to issue a ban on city officials from sending the letters. However, he did not throw out the case entirely. Murphy will listen to arguments from both sides at a hearing June 25.