Michigan

Michigan dispensary crackdown targets 'gray market'

Posted on March 20th, 2018 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

leafAmid legal challenges and disputes over zoning in Detroit, Michigan's long-awaited regulatory regime for cannabis dispensaries continues to face obstacles to implementation. This has left hundreds of dispensaries operating in a "gray market"—tolerated by the authorities on an unofficial basis while the mess is being worked out. But now state authorities have started to order these outlets closed—potentially leaving thousands of registered users without access to their medicine.

'Cannabis equity' questions behind Detroit zoning imbroglio

Posted on February 23rd, 2018 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , .

cannabisA recent court decision regarding a seemingly prosaic controversy over the zoning of medical marijuana businesses in Detroit actually sheds light on issues of what some activists are calling "cannabis equity"—how questions of social and racial justice related to the war on drugs will be addressed as the industry is day-lighted.

High NY hosts canna-biz networking confab

Posted on March 22nd, 2017 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

New York cannabisThe group High NY, "New York's Cannabis Community," hosted an event on "How to Apply Your Skills in the Cannabis Industry" at a Lower Manhattan venue the evening of March 22, featuring speakers with background in the biz from California, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Unlike these three polities, New York state has not legalized. But organizers took heart that on that very same day as their meet-up, chronic pain was added to the qualifying conditions under the Empire State's burgeoning if still limited medical marijuana program.

Biggest prison strike in US history —amid media blackout

Posted on September 23rd, 2016 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

prisonAmid a shameful paucity of media coverage, inmates at facilities in several states have organized work stoppages following a call for a nationwide prison strike to begin on Sept. 9—the anniversary of the 1971 Attica prison uprising. Organizers say inmates in at least 29 prisons in 12 states have launched strikes, with an unprecedented more than 24,000 prisoners participating. "This is a call to end slavery," reads the official call for the strike, issued by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. "They cannot run these facilities without us." While there have been prison strikes before—two earlier this year, in Texas and Alabama—this marks the first one to be nationally coordinated. Prisoners are using social media and smuggled cell phones to organize the national strike.

Big Cannabusiness: Reconciling the Recreational Boom and the Medical Marketplace

CannabusinessOn New Year’s Day, as retail sales of cannabis went legal in Colorado, the state's dispensaries registered well over $1 million in sales. Despite cold and wet weather, most of the 36 shops that opened that day reported long lines, with some customers waiting outdoors for hours. By the end of the first week, by which time another dozen retail outlets had opened, the figure was a whopping $5 million. More than 100 dispensaries in the Centennial State have now received licenses for retail cannabis sales and over 500 are eligible to apply. More are applying every day.

"A new industry is developing in a nascent state in Colorado," says Rachel Gillette, director of the Colorado chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "We're not just talking about retail sales, but a lot of other types of business associated with it—construction companies, HVAC contractors, nutrient companies, lighting and equipment sales, packaging, printers, labeling, marketing materials, websites, marijuana tourism, attorneys, payroll companies… This could represent a lot of jobs."

Medical cannabis advocates react to Holder sentencing reform proposal

Posted on August 13th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

medical marijuanaUS 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.

Michigan high court guts state dispensary system

Posted on February 12th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

cannabisIn a decision that may shutter most of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-1 Feb. 8 that the private sale of medical marijuana is illegal. The court granted an injunction enjoining the defendants' business, Compassionate Apothecary, from selling medical marijuana on the grounds that such sales constitute a public nuisance.

Obama administration imprisoning medical users at unprecedented rate

Posted on January 4th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , , .

medical marijuanaThe Obama administration's aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a crescendo this month, with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to federal authorities to serve out sentences of up to five years in prison, and one federal trial in Montana currently scheduled for Jan. 14. Two of the three people being sentenced in the coming month—Montana cultivator Chris Williams and Los Angeles-area dispensary operator Aaron Sandusky—face five and ten years to life, respectively.

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