Global Ganja Report

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would take cash from cannabis sales—illegal under federal law—and load it into the ATMs at the dispensaries, to be withdrawn by customers.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.

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.

A government-sponsored study published recently in The Open Neurology Journal concludes that cannabis provides relief to some chronic pain sufferers and that more clinical trials are needed—directly challenging DEA classification of the drug under "Schedule I," that reserved for substances with no medical uses. The study, sponsored by the State of California and conducted at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, calls the Schedule I placement "not accurate" and "not tenable."

A June 19 raid on a Long Beach cannabis dispensary is under investigation after a video was released showing officers smashing surveillance cameras and stepping on an employee. More than a dozen police raided THC Downtown Collective on Atlantic Boulevard. The two-minute video posted to YouTube shows a man who has been identified as employee Dorian Brooks surrendering to police and being ordered to the floor. One of the officers is seen stepping on his back before placing him in handcuffs. The video, recorded at an off-site location, then cuts to an officer pointing at the camera before another looks up and smashes the lens. "They noticed there was a camera that was on the wall right above my head, so they proceeded to smash it with a metal rod," said Brooks, adding that the camera shattered on him. "I wasn't able to protect myeslf because my hands were cuffed."

The Second District Court of Appeal in California issued a landmark decision July 2 in County of Los Angeles v. Alternative Medicinal Cannabis Collective (AMCC), affirming the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries under state law, rejecting bans imposed by municipalities. In particular, the court held that Los Angeles County's "complete ban" on medical marijuana is "preempted" by state law and therefore void. The AMCC decision reverses a preliminary injunction granted to the county by the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2011.

California Assembly member Tom Ammiano on June 24 withdrew his bill to regulate the state medical marijuana industry, AB 2312. The bill had already cleared the Assembly, and the state Senate planned to debate it this week—but it had been catching flak from both sides of the debate in recent weeks. Medical marijuana advocacy groups opposed late amendments to the bill that would allow for city councils and county boards to ban dispensaries. Proposed measures for taxation of cannabis also generated controversy. "Many good bills take more than a year to pass," wrote Don Duncan of Americans for Safe Access. "We need to make sure that taxation, if necessary, is limited; and we have to make it difficult for cities and counties to ban patients' associations outright." (Legalization Nation, June 25)