Global Ganja Report

In a setback for the corporatization of cannabis, the US Patent Office has shelved consideration of  trademarks for medical marijuana products, according to a July 19 report in the Wall Street Journal:

New York Gov. David Paterson on July 16 signed a bill prohibiting the retention of personal information on individuals detained by New York City police during a "stop and frisk" but ultimately not charged with a crime. The law was approved by the New York Assembly last month and will end the practice of police obtaining and keeping an electronic record of all individuals who are temporarily detained based on a police officer's reasonable suspicion.

California's medicinal cannabis growers see a downside to the normalization of their profession: the "Wal-Marting" of weed. The Oakland City Council this week will consider licensing four cannabis production facilities to service the medical market. Winning applicants would have to pay $211,000 in annual permit fees, carry $2 million worth of liability insurance and pay up to 8% of gross sales in taxes. This has raised fears that such measures could drive "mom and pop" growers out of business.

Roger Christie, founder of the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry, was denied bail July 16 by US District Judge Alan Kay in Honolulu. Kay noted  allegations that Christie, 61, continued operating what prosecutors are calling his marijuana distribution ring from jail.

The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan, in partnership with the law firm of Daniel W. Grow, PLLC, has filed a lawsuit  against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and the manager of its Battle Creek store for wrongfully firing an employee for using medicinal marijuana in accordance with state law to treat the painful symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer.

A Discovery News slideshow, "Ancient Cannabis: Uncovering a 2,700-Year-Old Stash," relates a recent archaeological find at Yanghai Tombs in the Huoyan Shan mountains (Xinjiang, China): the remains of a tribal shaman from the  Gushi culture, who was buried along with a medicine pouch, riding bridle, bows and arrows—and a wooden bowl containing cannabis.

A multi-agency federal task force on July 7 descended on the property of Joy Greenfield of Covelo, the first Mendocino County patient to pay the $1,050 application fee under the county medical marijuana ordinance, which allows collectives to grow up to 99 plants provided they comply with regulations. Greenfield had applied in the name of her collective, Light The Way, which opened in San Diego earlier this year.

Counterculture legend Tuli Kupferberg, co-founder of The Fugs and self-described "world’s oldest rock star," died July 12 in Manhattan at the age of 86. He had been in poor health since suffering two strokes last year, said Ed Sanders, his longtime friend and fellow Fug.