Global Ganja Report

Richard Flor, a Montana medical marijuana patient and caregiver who was sentenced in April to five years in federal prison on charges of maintaining a drug-related premises, died in federal custody Aug. 29. Flor, who suffered from a lengthy list of serious medical conditions, died in a hospital in Las Vegas, Nev., a day after suffering two heart attacks while in transit to an unknown Bureau of Prisons medical facility, according to his attorney, Brad Arndorfer of Billings. At Flor’s sentencing, US District Judge Charles Lovell recommended that he "be designated for incarceration at a federal medical center” where Flor’s “numerous physical and mental diseases and conditions can be evaluated and treated."

With plenty of time to spare, medical marijuana advocates filed more than 50,000 signatures Aug. 29 in an effort to overturn a recently passed ban on dispensaries throughout the city. Despite an outcry from patient advocates, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an outright ban last month on medical marijuana distribution within the city limits. The ban came after the city failed over a more than four-year period to develop regulations suitable for providing medical marijuana to the tens of thousands of area patients.

The feds are promising an especially aggressive crackdown on Emerald Triangle cannabis growers this harvest season. "It's one of the most beautiful parts of this country, but it's just being destroyed by marijuana cultivation," said Randy Wagner, the DEA special agent in charge of Northern California operations. "I can tell you, we're going to be hot and heavy in Humboldt County from here on out." An Aug. 26 report n the Eureka Times-Standard says the feds are frustrated with the ongoing dispute over medical marijuana in California and determined to pick up the slack following harsh budget cuts at the state's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. The report suggests local enforcement is ready to cooperate directly with the DEA, even with reduced state involvement.

The California Supreme Court dismissed review Aug. 22 of an important appellate court ruling affecting medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state. In throwing out the controversial decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach, the high court rejected the notion that federal law preempts some forms of dispensary regulations. The Pack decision has been used by several municipalities, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, to suspend or ban outright the distribution of medical marijuana. However, yesterday's dismissal of the Pack decision throws into question the viability of such bans.

The New Jersey Department of Health announced this week that physicians can now register qualified patients for the state's medical marijuana program—a move that won support for Republican Gov. Chris Christie from the first dispensary to open in the Garden State. "At one point we felt that the progression of the program installation was slow," according to Julio Valentin of Greenleaf Compassion in Montclair. "But we understand that Gov. Christie and the state of New Jersey is doing the best they can to cross their T's and dot their I's to make this program as successful as possible." Valentin, who intends to hang a framed photo of Christie on the walls of the dispensary, hails the governor for giving them "the green light." (ABC News, Aug. 10)

Police in Peru said Aug. 3 they had destroyed more than 50 tons of cannabis following a five-day operation that uncovered a record 207,000 plants in two central regions of the country. Interior Minister Wilfredo Pedraza said the operation led to the burning of 17 times more cannabis than had been destroyed in all of 2011. National Police Director Gen. Raúl Salazar said a total of 34.5 hectares (85.25 acres) of cannabis plantations had been destroyed in the La Libertad and Huánuco regions. Gen. Salazar said police have identified the financial brains behind the plantations and were moving in on him. (BBC News,* Aug. 3)

Vermont farmer Roger Pion, 34, jumped into his giant eight-wheel Case MX255 diesel tractor, headed to the police station in Newport town, and crushed more than seven squad cars Aug. 2, exacting vengeance for his arrest for cannabis possession last month. Pion then led cops on a low-speed chase through town before being apprehended a mile away. His act of retribution took out more than half of the district's squad car fleet. "We're going to have to get the jaws of life up here to pry the trunks open and see about the rifles and shotguns," Sheriff Kirk Martin told the Associated Press."The radios are ruined."

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.