Global Ganja Report

Delaware became the 16th state to approve cannabis for medical use May 13 as a Senate Bill 17 was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jack Markell. The state senate passed the measure two days earler by 17-4. The new law allows patients who certify a serious medical condition such as cancer to possess up to six ounces, or 170 grams. State-licensed centers will be able to grow the cannabis and dispense it to patients 18 and older. (Reuters, 420 Times, May 13)

The Cancare Collective in North Hollywood, one of seven targeted for closure by the city of Los Angeles, shut down May 11 rather than wage a costly legal fight. The city charges the seven dispensaries with zoning code violations. The decision to close came after a judge issued an injunction barring the dispensary from operating in North Hollywood or any other location. City lawsuits to close dispensaries on grounds they were violating California law by selling cannabis have been successful, but municipal authorities say the new zoning violation suits move through the courts more quickly. (AP, May 12)

An investigation by WNYC Radio into the New York Police Department's often illegal and racially discriminatory wave of arrests for misdemeanor cannabis possession finds that the police exploit citizens' ignorance of their rights. Out of the more than 50,000 arrests for possession in New York City last year, almost no one challenged the legality of the manner they were searched. And when the cases were thrown out—as many as 10 to 15 times every day in the Bronx alone—it was usually because police accidentally admitted they violated the rights of the person they searched.

Cornell Hood II got off with probation after three marijuana convictions in New Orleans. But after moving to St. Tammany Parish, a single such conviction landed the 35-year-old in prison for the rest of his life. Louisiana state Judge Raymond S. Childress punished Hood under Louisiana's repeat-offender law in his courtroom in Covington on May 5. A jury on Feb. 15 found Hood guilty of attempting to possess and distribute marijuana at his Slidell home.

Patients and their supporters rallied at the Justice Department in Washington DC on May 2 to protest increased federal interference in medical marijuana states. More than 200 supporters also rallied in Sacramento for medical marijuana patients Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband Dale Schafer as they surrendered to federal authorities to serve out five-year prison terms. Last week, the DEA raided several distribution centers in Spokane, Wash., as a state bill to license such facilities was vetoed the next day by Gov. Christine Gregoire. The Spokane actions are the latest in a string of more than 100 aggressive SWAT-style federal raids carried out since President Obama took office.

The DEA conducted aggressive SWAT-style raids April 29 on three distribution facilities in Spokane, Wash., that provided medical cannabis to qualified patients. Earlier this month, numerous facilities shut down after US Attorney Michael Ormsby threatened  landlords in Spokane with seizure of their property if they continue to let their tenants provide medical cannabis. These actions come as the state is trying to pass Senate Bill 5073, which modifies its current medical marijuana law to set up a licensed distribution system.

Montana's Gov. Brian Schweitzer said April 29 that he will let a restrictive new medical marijuana bill take law without his signature. With the legislative session about to end, procedure allows unsigned bills to take effect until the new session in 2013. "So I will hold my nose and allow this to be law until the Legislature gets back to session," Schweitzer said. "I'm not going to sign it."

Veteran Yippie activist and cannabis crusader Ben Masel died April 27 at his home in Madison, Wisc. He had been suffering from terminal lung cancer. Known for founding the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival, the Bronx-born Masel moved to Madison in 1971 and was a fixture in politics there ever since. He frequently ran for public office—including sheriff of Dane County—on a pro-legalization platform, and sometimes on the Republican ticket, just to tweak the local GOP establishment.