Global Ganja Report

Several Boulder cannabis dispensaries have received letters from the US Attorney's Office ordering them to move or close by May 7 because they are within 1,000 feet of a school, the Denver Post reported April 11. This constitutes the third wave of threatening letters sent to Colorado dispensaries by US Attorney John Walsh this year. The first slew of such letters, in January, resulted in the closure of 23 dispensaries, although none in Boulder. Another 25 letters were sent in March. The US Attorney's Office declined to name the targeted dispensaries, but representatives of two dispensaries in Boulder's University Hill area—Fresh Republic and the Hill Cannabis Club—confirmed they received the letters. An owner of the latter dispensary said the business will close by May 7.

The Daily News on April 9 couldn't resist two sophomoric jokes in the lead line of its story on New York's governor axing chances for passage of a medicinal cannabis bill this year: "Gov. Cuomo provided a buzz-kill Monday to a new legislative push to legalize medicinal marijuana that is being fired up." Andrew Cuomo told the newspaper that legalization of marijuana for medical purposes has "tremendous risks," and is unlikely to be taken up by the Legislature this year. "I understand the benefits, but there are also risks, and I think the risks outweigh the benefits at this point," Cuomo said, reiterating the position he took during his 2010 campaign for governor.

By a popular vote, the Spanish village of Rasquera on April 11 adopted a plan to rent out a field for growing cannabis in an urgent bid to create jobs and raise money to pay off its debts. Rasquera's village council approved the plan to rent seven hectares of municipal land to the Barcelona Personal Use Cannabis Association (ABCDA) in a 4-3 vote Feb. 29. A total of 804 residents were eligible to vote in the referendum, which posed the question: "Do you agree with the anti-crisis plan approved by the Rasquera town hall on February 29?" The approval—with 308 votes for, and 239 against—was hailed by Mayor Bernat Pellisa as a "magnificent result."

The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals in San Francisco April 9 issued a ruling that may open the way for protection of sacramental cannabis use under federal law. While the decision found that the government does not have to compensate a Native American church for seized cannabis, it also allowed Michael Rex "Raging Bear" Mooney and the Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii to fight for declaratory and injunctive relief barring the government from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act against their followers.

With Massachusetts lawmakers deadlocked over medical marijuana legislation, the question seems more likely to go before the commonwealth's voters in November. Two bills before the Public Health Committee on legalizing medical marijuana (S 1161 and H 625) have been sent to "study"—a move that almost always ends the chances of a bill passing. A ballot measure on the issue will only be averted if backers fail to collect 11,485 certified signatures by July 3 or if they drop their effort in deference to a plan in the legislature to pass an alternative proposal—neither of which now seem probable. (Statehouse News Service, April 10)

On April 2, a bipartisan group of legislators from five medical marijuana states—California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, and Washington—issued an open letter to President Barack Obama opposing the federal crackdown and calling upon his administration to "respect our state laws." The lawmakers underscored that such an aggressive policy "makes no sense" and is "not a good use of our resources," recalling Obama's original pledge to de-emphasize enforcement in states with medical marijuana laws.

A coalition of medical marijuana patients, activists, dispensing centers, and concerned citizens has compelled public officials to stand up to recent federal attacks. Last week, the new coalition "San Francisco United for Safe Access" held a press conference with several city supervisors and state officials, decrying the Obama administration's aggressive tactics before a crowd of more than 500 supporters. By Friday April 6, San Francisco United had secured a statement from Mayor Ed Lee, expressing his opposition to "recent federal actions targeting duly permitted medicinal cannabis dispensaries...that aim to limit our citizens’ ability to have safe access to the medicine they need."

Colorado is cutting its cannabis enforcement staff by more than half because the state isn't collecting enough licensing fees, regulators said April 3. The Department of Revenue said that 20 of 37 staffers at its Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will be reassigned to other jobs within the department. The division licenses and regulates medical marijuana businesses such as dispensaries and cannabis cultivators.