Global Ganja Report

Amid 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.

With California preparing to vote on a marijuana legalization initiative in November,  the city of Oakland is seeking not only tax revenues but a direct cut of profits from local cannabis business. A measure introduced in the City Council would require any new Oakland cannabis company to make the city government a 25% partner. Companies that don't cut Oakland in would not get a permit and therefore not be allowed to operate under local law—or state law, which mandates compliance with municipal ordinances.

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a "potalyzer"—a device that can detect human THC levels, so cops can determine if a motorist is too impaired to drive. The hand-held device uses sophisticated bio-sensors to detect THC molecules in saliva. Police officers will supposedly be able collect a spit sample with a cotton swab and read the results on a smartphone or laptop in just three minutes.

A police raid of a Southern California medical marijuana dispensary was caught on hidden cameras—leading to accusations that officers exceeded their legal authority during the operation. "These guys were doing this to shut down a business without due process because they don't like it," Matthew Pappas, attorney for the now-closed Costa Mesa Collective told the Orange County Register in an Aug. 4 report. "They became judge, jury and executioner."

Northern California's traditional cannabis heartland of Humboldt County this summer gave an official go-ahead for two commercial medical marijuana farms, the Eureka Times-Standard reports. The two operations are Honeydew Farms, a seven-acre outdoor grow in the town of Honeydew, and a quarter-acre "mixed-light" farm run by Blessed Coast LLC in Carlotta. These are the first such enterprises in the county, "marking the beginning of a new era for the industry."

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) officially made the California ballot on June 28, as the Secretary of State's office confirmed that enough signatures had been gathered—a total of 600,000. "Today marks a fresh start for California as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself," Jason Kinney, a campaigner for the measure, told KTLA.  The initiative would allow adults ages 21 and up to possess, transport and consume up to an ounce of cannabis, and permit individuals to grow up to six plants. (Drug War Chronicle, June 29)

Within 48 hours of the June 15 DEA raid on the facilities of his cannabis extracts company in Santa Rosa, Dennis Franklin Hunter was released without charges—and the enterprise, Care By Design (CBD), is back in operation. Advocates are hailing as a victory for the industry and user's rights. At least 150 patients, activists and supporters of the CBD Guild collective filled the steps outside the Sonoma County Superior Courthouse in Santa Rosa following the raid, the local Press-Democrat newspaper reports. Company spokesman Nick Caston, emphasized CBD's commitment to operating within the law, saying: "We produce medicine as determined by the voters in the 1990s, and we do it with the best practices of any company in the state."

On June 15, DEA agents and Sonoma County law enforcement raided six facilities associated with Care By Design (CBD), a Santa Rosa company that produces cannabis oils, tinctures and sprays under the Absolute Xtracts brand. The raid comes just days after the company hosted local and state officials at its facilities to discuss regulations for the emerging industry. CBD co-founder Dennis Hunter was arrested and charged with a felony for manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical extraction (a law created for meth labs). He is being held on $5 million bail. Equipment and payroll records were also seized. The company is apparently accused of using butane gas to produce concentrated cannabis oil—a practice banned in California. (Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, High Times, CBD press release via Weed Blog)