Global Ganja Report

On Jan. 11—at exactly 4:20 PM—three medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of San Diego were raided by the cross-jurisdictional Narcotic Task Force (NTF) of San Diego County. The locations attacked included California's Best Meds on University Ave., Golden West in North Park, and San Diego Organic Wellness Association in Pacific Beach. Armed with handguns, rifles, and battering rams, dozens of masked NTF officers rushed into the facilities, breaking down doors and windows, and forcing all patients inside to the floor.

Governors Christine Gregoire (D-WA) and Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) announced at a press conference in Olympia Nov. 30 that they are jointly filing a federal petition to reclassify cannabis for medical use. Under the Controlled Substances Act, the federal government considers cannabis a Schedule I substance, a dangerous drug with no medical value. The rescheduling petition filed by governors Gregoire and Chafee comes after their administrations were sent letters threatening medical marijuana producers and distributors and the implementation of state laws.

An internal Justice Department memo containing guidelines for federal cannabis enforcement in California, issued in February, has been leaked to California NORML, and is now on the website of the California Cannabis Coalition. It was issued jointly by the four California US attorneys to DEA agents in the state, the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task-forces, and "Federal task force partners in California." Marked "Not for public use or circulation," it outlines criteria for federal involvement in cannabis cases, such as "Distribution of significant quantities," "Provable ties to an international drug cartel," "Marijuana 'inventory' obtained from cultivation on federal or tribal land," "Store operations in conjunction with other federal crimes," etc.

Scores of cannabis dispensaries in San Diego County have closed following the federal crackdown announced in October. As of the end of November, 139 of 222 medical cannabis outlets—or 62%—have shut down since the US Attorney's office in San Diego began sending letters to the dispensaries and their landlords. About a third of those targeted are still operating, but some 20 more outlets are expected to close within the next two weeks, according to federal authorities. Another round of letters from the US Attorney's Office—some hand-delivered by DEA agents—were sent within the past week to dispensaries that remain open.

The Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA) says it has received information that the Justice Department has issued a memo with guidelines for the acceptable operation of dispensaries in California, and wants to know if similar guidelines were issued for their own state. Said MTCIA spokesman Ed Docter: "If the federal government wants to propose guidelines fine, we're all for that, we would really enjoy that, we would invite the help but basically we would just like to know what our US Attorney get. What did [Montana US Attorney Michael] Cotter get? I mean we don't know if he got a similar memo." The MTCIA says it will write to Gov. Brain Schweitzer seeking clarification on the guidelines, and what the Montana industry needs to do to prevent more raids. (KPAX, Missoula, Nov. 29)

Bolivia and the US agreed to restore diplomatic relations on Nov. 7, three years after President Evo Morales expelled the US ambassador and then, weeks later, the DEA force in the Andean country. This was the first of several times since then that Morales has accused the US of plotting against him. In announcing the move to restore ties, Morales emphasized that the DEA would not be allowed back in his country. Morales said that he himself had been a "victim" of the DEA as a coca grower. He called the DEA's exclusion from Bolivia a question of "dignity and sovereignty."

Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country's largest cannabis patients advocacy organization, filed suit in federal court Oct. 27 challenging the Obama administration's attempt to subvert local and state medical marijuana laws in California. ASA argues in its lawsuit that Obama's Department of Justice (DoJ) has "instituted a policy to dismantle the medical marijuana laws of the State of California and to coerce its municipalities to pass bans on medical marijuana dispensaries." The DoJ policy has involved aggressive SWAT-style raids, criminal prosecutions of medical marijuana patients and providers, and threats to local officials for merely implementing state law.

For the third time in as many weeks, DEA agents raided a Southern Oregon medical cannabis grow Oct. 14. Homeowner Clifford Ruhland said the 100-plant operation in Central Point was in compliance with state law. The plants were confiscated, but no arrests made. Ruhland expressed his exasperation: "From my personal perspective it's kind of like... why are you even here? Isn't there something more important, that's affecting people's lives in a real important way, than being here right now?" Medical advocates gathered outside the property when news broke of the raid. (KDRV, Oct. 14)