Global Ganja Report

It is certainly a sign of the times that a partnership of major California media—led by Bay Area News Group, owner of the San Jose Mercury News—has launched a website entitled The Cannifornian, "Covering the Golden State of Cannabis." That means it's dedicated to reportage on the fast-growing cannabis sector in post-legalization California. An April 25 offering, "Venture capital investors betting big on cannabis," notes that financial consultancy firm New Frontier Data is predicting nationwide legal cannabis sales will balloon to more than $24 billion by 2025.

Oakland's Harborside Health Center announced May 3 that it has reached a deal to end the long effort by federal prosecutors to shut it down. Under the "historic agreement," the Justice Department will agree dismiss its forfeiture case against Harborside. In return, the dispensary agrees not to pursue further legal action against the government. Harborside's San Jose location is also included in the deal. Attorney Henry Wykowski said: "We are gratified that the government has finally seen fit to lay down its arms against Harborside in this case. The will of the people is for medical cannabis dispensaries to operate free from federal threats of closure. We hope we are on the cusp of a policy change and that the Department of Justice will no longer target state-legal dispensaries for forfeiture."

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.

Mayor Chuck Reed issued a memo Jan. 27 calling for the city of San Jose to suspend its controversial medical marijuana ordinance. He cited the California Supreme Court's decision to review four medical marijuana cases dealing with localities' power to regulate, as well as a referendum that has qualified for the ballot to repeal the ordinance. He said the city will remain in talks with dispensaries and will continue to collect taxes on them. "We're just in a position where we can't fix this without some clarification on this unsettled area of the law," Reed said. "It's just impossible for local government to do. So, we’re just going to have to wait." The City Council still has to act on Reed's memo.

Medicinal cannabis advocates pleaded before the San Jose City Council Nov. 9 for a halt to raids they say have sent fear through providers and patients alike. Drug agents in recent weeks have raided three local dispensaries. Several other collectives, including the San Jose branch of Harborside Health Center, have temporarily closed, fearing further raids. "How can you sit up there and take my rights away?" asked a tearful Aisha Alexander, 36, who told the Council she uses cannabis to relieve breast cancer symptoms.

Medical marijuana patients and advocates will descend on the Nov. 9 San Jose City Council meeting to convey their disapproval of raids on cannabis dispensaries in their community. Over the past month, the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team has carried out several raids on dispensaries in the city, the most recent of which occurred Nov. 4. After the City Council meeting, advocates will host a "Know Your Rights" training and a meeting to develop a raid alert system.

Proposition 19 mastermind Richard Lee spoke to supporters in Oakland after the initiative lost by some 540,000 votes, 46-53%, the night of Nov. 2. "The fact that millions of Californians voted to legalize marijuana is a tremendous victory," Lee said, noting that the measure won 3.3 million votes. "We have broken the glass ceiling. Prop. 19 has changed the terms of the debate. And that was a major strategic goal."

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."