Global Ganja Report

Hundreds of police officers, sheriffs' deputies and military servicemen from across the country—many donning battle fatigues—converged on downtown Oakland's Marriott Hotel Oct. 25 for the opening of the Urban Shield security confab and weapons show. National and international law enforcement agencies joined with defense industry contractors to attend seminars and display wares for three days. Outside the Marriott, scores of community activists protested the event. United under the name Facing Urban Shield, the coalition said the militarist tone of the event highlighted the worsening human rights records of police forces around the US, and the waste of billions of tax-dollars on prisons. They also charged that the showcasing of arms dealers undercut crime-plagued Oakland's efforts to stem gun violence.

Before the 1988 GMC Thomas Built school bus was dubbed the "Cannabus" and made over with its marijuana-themed paint job, it was a red ski resort shuttle bus until two guys from North Carolina bought the bus in 2012 and set out on the "Green Bus Tour for Marijuana Legalization." The pair toured the East Coast for approximately nine weeks before certain events kept them from continuing, and the CannaBus went up for sale on eBay.

US Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a speech Aug. 12 to the annual meeting of the American Bar Association in which he outlined a new sentencing and enforcement strategy. Holder said that the Department of Justice is "considering compassionate release for inmates facing extraordinary or compelling circumstances." Holder also spoke out against the indiscriminate use of mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent offenders. There are currently more than two dozen federal medical marijuana patients and providers who are serving sentences for violating federal marijuana laws, despite being in compliance with the laws of their respective states.

As US Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a commencement speech May 11 for UC Berkeley law school graduates, a plane flew overhead with a banner that read "Holder: End Rx Cannabis War. #Peace4Patients," in protest against recent actions by the Justice Department (DoJ) in the Bay Area. Outside the Hearst Greek Theater, where Holder gave his speech, medical marijuana advocates also handed out fake DoJ recruitment flyers, detailing how the Obama Administration is engaging in harmful tactics that are adversely affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients in California.

On Jan. 7, Chief Federal Magistrate Maria-Elena James in San Francisco ruled in favor of Harborside Health Center, and denied motions by Harborside's landlords asking the court to order an immediate halt of medical cannabis sales at their properties in Oakland and San Jose. Judge James also declined to grant a motion from the City of Oakland to enjoin the federal government's legal efforts to close Harborside, but scheduled a hearing later this month for further arguments in Oakland's suit.

The Obama administration will be going toe-to-toe in federal court Dec. 20 at 10 AM with the City of Oakland and California's largest medical marijuana dispensary, Harborside Health Center. US Attorney Melinda Haag filed forfeiture proceedings in July against Harborside's landlords to force the dispensary to close its two locations in Oakland and San Jose. Then, in October, the City of Oakland filed its own legal action against Haag and her boss, US Attorney General Eric Holder. Harborside serves thousands of patients, pays local, state and federal taxes, and has been legally operating in Oakland since 2006.

Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and San Francisco law firm Morrison & Foerster announced Oct. 11 that the City of Oakland has filed a complaint in US District Court to stop the federal government from seizing an Oakland building used by a medical marijuana dispensary. "This lawsuit is about protecting the rights of legitimate medical patients," Parker said in a statement. "I am deeply dismayed that the federal government would seek to deny these rights and deprive thousands of seriously ill Californians of access to safe, affordable and effective medicine." The civil suit, which has City Council approval, seeks to "restrain and declare unlawful" forfeiture proceedings against the landlords of the dispensary, Harborside Health Center, stating that Oakland will "suffer irreparable harm if the dispensaries are shuttered."

On Aug. 2, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and seven initial co-sponsors introduced HR 6335, the States' Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act, in an attempt to stop the seizure of property from landlords of state law-compliant medical marijuana businesses. The introduction of HR 6335 comes less than a month after US Attorney Melinda Haag served an asset forfeiture suit against the landlord of Harborside, a dispensary in Rep. Lee's district, in Oakland. The Justice Department action was opposed by Rep. Lee, and also sparked an outcry from local and state officials, including City Council members, the Oakland city attorney, and the Board of Equalization.