Global Ganja Report

With results coming in from the California elections, the media are projecting defeat for Proposition 19. Attorney General Jerry Brown is projected to become the next governor, holding a wide lead over Republican Meg Whitman. In the race for attorney general, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, a Republican who calls for the "eradication" of cannabis dispensaries, appears to have defeated Democrat Kamala Harris, San Francisco's district attorney.

Robert Jones, a 70-year-old cancer patient in Las Vegas, NM, has been notified that he is no longer eligible to receive a federal housing subsidy because he uses medical cannabis. Jones received a letter from the local housing administrator Oct. 12 telling him even though medical marijuana has been legalized by the state, it remains illegal at the federal level. The letter told Jones he was being terminated from the Section 8 voucher program effective Nov. 30. He has filed an appeal.

Global Ganja Report interviewed veteran criminal and civil rights attorney Tony Serra about Proposition 19 by telephone a few days ago. Currently Serra works out of the Pier 5 law firm in San Francisco and is defending accused members of the the Animal and Environmental Liberation Fronts against terrorism charges. He spends most days in court defending drug dealers, murderers and activists and holds the record for the longest closing argument in California history.

The medical marijuana patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) stepped up its campaign this week to oppose Steve Cooley in his bid for California attorney general. Hoping to convince Californians against voting for Cooley, ASA has launched the website www.NotCooley.com to highlight the ways in which Cooley would be bad—not only for patients and their providers but also for those who are concerned about the environment, equal rights, and criminal justice issues.

The country's leading advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) issued voter guides Oct. 26, highlighting several important races in the upcoming elections, including ballot initiatives establishing two new statewide medical marijuana laws in Arizona and South Dakota, and an expansion of Oregon's law to include licensed cannabis dispensaries. At the local level, voters in California and Colorado will be deciding on dozens of local medical marijuana initiatives, including banning distribution and imposing new taxes on patients. The race for California attorney general, however, may represent the greatest threat to patients this November. ASA strongly opposes AG candidate Steve Cooley, Los Angeles District Attorney and a longtime adversary of the state's medical marijuana laws.

Medical marijuana patient advocates and other stakeholders staged a protest Oct. 14 as criminal proceedings began at the Terraine Courthouse in San Jose, Calif. The protest came in response to aggressive enforcement actions over the past two weeks by several police departments and the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. The sweep, which resulted in the arrest of nearly two dozen medical marijuana patients and providers in Santa Clara County on Oct. 1 and 7, was dubbed Operation "Up in Smoke."

Nine Santa Barbara area residents were arrested Oct. 13 for alleged involvement in a large-scale cannabis-trafficking organization. The arrests came at the conclusion of a year-long investigation, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Search warrants were served at seven locations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, turning up more than 900 indoor and outdoor cannabis plants, more than 300 pounds of processed cannabis, more than 50 pounds of hashish, and several million dollars in hash oil. Investigators also seized more than $125,000 in cash, a 2010 Porsche and nine motorcycles. Police said primary suspect Erik Bjorklund operated under the guise of growing medical marijuana. "This was just a straight-up drug-trafficking operation—purely to make money," said Drew Sugars of the Sheriff's Department. "Based on the numbers, it's certainly a significant operation." (Santa Maria Times, Oct. 13)

After six years of limiting medicinal cannabis dispensaries to four, Oakland city officials are poised to double that cap. Along with new legislation that would increase the number of licensed clubs to eight, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Oct. 12 to double the annual fees paid by the dispensaries from $30,000 to $60,000. The ordinance was introduced by councilmembers Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan. The full City Council will vote Oct. 19.