Global Ganja Report

Rick Morse, operator of the Medmar Clinic in Fresno, CA, is behind bars after a judge ruled that he violated a court order not to sell cannabis. During a court appearance May 14, Morse told Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Franson that he was still distributing cannabis. With the admission, Morse was handcuffed and ordered to spend 15 days in jail. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Judge Franson also approved a request by Fresno's deputy city attorney to file a motion to shut down the dispensary. (AP, May 14)

Medical marijuana advocates in Montana are condemning recent arson attempts against two local dispensaries. Two separate attempts to set fire to medicinal cannabis dispensaries occurred last week in Billings. At both locations, the words "Not in Our Town" were spray-painted on the storefronts. These acts of intimidation come as the city is considering a temporary ban or moratorium on new dispensaries, in order to allow for the development of a regulatory ordinance.

Cannabis Medical Solutions Inc., a leading company specializing in both physical-world and online payment solutions and financial security products for medical marijuana dispensaries, on May 13 announced that the company is in negotiations to acquire and open at least two medical marijuana dispensaries within the state of California.

A judge on May 7 ruled that officials in San Jose, Calif., may continue to threaten landlords of medical marijuana cooperatives with fines of up to $2,500 a day—a practice that has resulted in the eviction of at least one cannabis club. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy ruled against the medical marijuana collectives, citing a lack of evidence to issue a ban on city officials from sending the letters. However, he did not throw out the case entirely. Murphy will listen to arguments from both sides at a hearing June 25.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed an ordinance May 3 that will shut 439 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city and impose stricter regulations on the 186 remaining outlets. Under the order, the dispensaries must shut down by June 7, when the city's ordinance to regulate medical marijuana takes effect. Letters, sent to both dispensary operators and property owners, warn that violation of the city laws is a misdemeanor that could lead to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Collectives that stay open after the deadline could also face civil penalties of $2,500 a day.

Venice medical marijuana dispensary Organica Inc was barred by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant April 13 from selling or distributing cannabis, in a ruling that City Attorney Carmen Trutanich hopes will lead to the shutdown of hundreds of clinics across the city. Assistant City Attorney Asha Greenberg said there is no evidence Organica, which had $5.2 million in sales over a 13-month period, was operating as a nonprofit collective.

Mayor Peter Arth of Dunsmuir, Calif., has propsoed planintg a large medical marijuana garden in the small city's historic business district. Arth, himself a medicinal user, this week asked the city council for a permit that would allow him to lease three commercial lots he owns to a cannabis collective to build greenhouses. Arth says the prime location would help "bring medical cannabis out of the darkness of an underground market and into the legal light."

A wave of marijuana law reform is sweeping the US, with initiatives to legalize medicinal use in the forefront, and the traditionally staid East Coast starting to catch up with western states. A medical marijuana bill is gaining ground in New York's state legislature, with lawmakers touting the additional revenues it could bring from licensing fees for growers and dispensers. (WXXI, Rochester, March 23)