Global Ganja Report

On April 2, a bipartisan group of legislators from five medical marijuana states—California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, and Washington—issued an open letter to President Barack Obama opposing the federal crackdown and calling upon his administration to "respect our state laws." The lawmakers underscored that such an aggressive policy "makes no sense" and is "not a good use of our resources," recalling Obama's original pledge to de-emphasize enforcement in states with medical marijuana laws.

A coalition of medical marijuana patients, activists, dispensing centers, and concerned citizens has compelled public officials to stand up to recent federal attacks. Last week, the new coalition "San Francisco United for Safe Access" held a press conference with several city supervisors and state officials, decrying the Obama administration's aggressive tactics before a crowd of more than 500 supporters. By Friday April 6, San Francisco United had secured a statement from Mayor Ed Lee, expressing his opposition to "recent federal actions targeting duly permitted medicinal cannabis dispensaries...that aim to limit our citizens’ ability to have safe access to the medicine they need."

Colorado is cutting its cannabis enforcement staff by more than half because the state isn't collecting enough licensing fees, regulators said April 3. The Department of Revenue said that 20 of 37 staffers at its Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division will be reassigned to other jobs within the department. The division licenses and regulates medical marijuana businesses such as dispensaries and cannabis cultivators.

On March 30, the District of Columbia granted licenses to six cannabis cultivators, finally moving toward implementing the medical marijuana program that was approved by the District's voters in 1998 vote but blocked by Congress—which controls the district's budget—for over a decade. But advocates now warn that burdensome regulation by the District's own government threatens the program. In the last three months, the DC Council has passed several restrictions on the locations of the 10 cultivation centers it originally authorized in a 2010 law.

A new study finds that NYPD cops in the Bronx made hundreds of unlawful cannabis arrests over a five-month period last year—despite a warning from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The study, released April 2 by the advocacy group Bronx Defenders, shows that illegal stops and searches are an "epidemic" in the Bronx, said the group's executive director Robin Steinberg.

The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 April 2 in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington that a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated when he was strip-searched upon entering jail. Albert Florence was arrested in New Jersey after being pulled over, when it was found that there was an outstanding warrant against him for failure to pay a fine—a non-criminal offense in the state. He produced a letter stating that he had paid the fine, but the officer made the arrest anyway. Florence was taken to a local jail where he was forced to strip naked for inspection. He was transferred to another facility a week later, and was again subjected to a strip search.

Dozens of federal agents on April 2 raided Oakland's famed Oaksterdam University and the Lake Merritt area apartment of its owner Richard Lee, California's most prominent cannabis advocate. The armed agents, some wearing face masks, came to the locations with a battering ram, sledgehammer and power saws. Agents from the DEA, IRS and Marshals Service carted away loads of cannabis as well as numerous file boxes, did but not reveal the purpose of the raids, other than to call it part of an "ongoing investigation."

Colorado's top federal prosecutor ordered 25 medical marijuana dispensaries located near schools to close in a new series of letters issued March 23. US Attorney John Walsh warned owners of the establishments that they have 45 days to shut down or "action will be taken to seize and forfeit their property," his office said in a press statement. Walsh's office said the letters were sent to dispensaries that violate a state law requiring cannabis dispensaries be at least 1,000 feet from a school. He sent a similar ultimatum to 23 cannabis dispensaries that violated the buffer law in January. He said no enforcement measure was taken because those locations all ceased cannabis sales.