State Courts

Here's our weekly look at medical marijuana news from around the country. There's plenty going on--and late breaking news from California Wednesday afternoon.

California

On January 11, the city of Upland filed a motion that would allow it to close the G3 Holistic dispensary. The motion seeks to vacate a stay granted by the 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside to G3 back in June. The co-op and the city disagree over whether the stay allows the dispensary to stay open despite an injunction granted to the city in August 2010 by the West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.

Also on January 11, Mendocino County officials confirmed that the feds are threatening to sue over the county's marijuana cultivation permit program. The warning was delivered during a meeting a week earlier, county officials said. The program is already suspended pending resolution of a court case about whether local governments can regulate activities prohibited by federal law. Supervisors will consider amending its medical marijuana ordinance at the January 24 meeting.

On January 12, Shasta County medical marijuana advocates fell short in their effort to gather enough signatures to force a recent county ordinance restricting marijuana growing onto a ballot before it became law that day. Nor Cal Safe Access needed 6,544 valid signatures  to place a referendum on the ballot. Organizers didn't have an exact count, but said they gathered "thousands." It wasn't enough. The ordinance bans growing inside residences but allows it in detached accessory structures and sets limits for outdoor growing regardless of how many patients live at a residence.

Last Thursday, federal prosecutors filed a forfeiture complaint against the Sacramento Holistic Healing Center. The feds said the center had been warned in October it was operating within a thousand feet of an elementary school and high school and told to cease operations.

Also last Thursday, the owner of the Regenesis Health dispensary in Adelanto was arrested by San Bernadino County sheriff's deputies. Ramsey Najor, 69, of Hesperia was arresting for violating municipal codes and suspicion of assault on a peace officer after he dragged a deputy with his car as he fled the scene.

Also last Thursday, the Sonoma County Planning Commission recommended a cap on dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county. The planners want to limit the number at nine. The Board of Supervisors will have to vote on it later. There currently are six permitted dispensaries in the unincorporated area of Sonoma County and another three pending applications. In addition there are four dispensaries within city limits: two in Santa Rosa, one in Cotati and one in Sebastopol. Those cities also have caps that prohibit additional shops. The remaining six cities in the county ban dispensaries.

Last Friday, Lake County authorities reported that dispensary numbers are dwindling. Supervisors decided last month that they are not authorized land uses in the county's jurisdiction and have moved forward with the abatement process to close them down. Of 10 dispensaries that were operating in unincorporated areas of the county, as few as three are still open.

Also last Friday, a second dispensary has opened in Murrieta despite a citywide ban. The Greenhouse Cannabis Club has been hit with thousands of dollars in fines and several code violations every day. Owner Eric McNeil said he plans to fight the ban in court. The first dispensary to open, the Cooperative Medical Group, which opened in July, is now closed by court order after going several rounds with the city's attorneys. They are still awaiting a final court decision in that case.

Also last Friday, the LA city council's Public Safety Committee approved a motion to ban dispensaries in the city. The motion now moves to the city council and Planning Commission, which next meets January 26. The motion would indefinitely shutter the estimated 300 dispensaries in the city. The motion is the work of Council Member Jose Huizar, who said he was responding to the Pack v. City of Long Beach ruling, which held that that city's ordinance, which is similar to LA's, violated federal law by attempting to regulate the sale of a federally banned drug.

On Tuesday, an East Palo Alto dispensary announced it was closing its doors because of threats from the feds. The Peninsula Care Givers Collective said it was losing its lease after its landlord received a letter from the federal government threatening to seize the building. The city had passed an ordinance in July banning dispensaries, but Peninsula Care Givers was already open by then and refused to close. The city had been pursuing civil remedies. East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis said the city had contacted the U.S. Attorney's Office for help in shutting down Peninsula Care Givers.

On Tuesday, the DEA and local law enforcement raided the Green Tree Solutions dispensary in Kearney Mesa. It was the fourth raid on a San Diego area dispensary in less than a week. The DEA raiders were met by protesting patients and advocates.

Also on Tuesday, the DEA raided three Costa Mesa dispensaries, along with their owners' homes. The targeted businesses were American Collective, Otherside Farms and Simple Farmer.

Also on Tuesday, the Monroe city council voted to extend a moratorium on dispensaries for 180 days, and will revisit the issue in 60 days.

Also on Tuesday, the Poway city council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives.The ordinance will go into effect within 30 days if the council adopts it at its February 7 meeting.
 

On Wednesday afternoon, the California Supreme Court said it would review two controversial medical marijuana cases. In Pack v. City of Long Beach, the appeals court held that federal law preempted the city's ability to regulate dispensaries and in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient's Health and Wellness Center, the appeals court held that cities could ban dispensaries altogether. The two rulings have been used by elected local officials to back away from regulating dispensaries and toward banning them.

Colorado

Last Thursday, federal prosecutors sent threat letters to 23 dispensaries and their landlords across Colorado warning that they must shut down within 45 days or "action will be taken to seize and forfeit their property." The letter was sent to dispensaries operating within 1,000 feet of a school.

Last Friday, state Sen. Steve King said he would reintroduce a drugged driving bill. The bill would set a per se limit on THC, meaning police would not have to prove actual impairment, only that the driver's THC levels exceeded the limit. Such laws are fervently opposed by the state's medical marijuana patients, who managed to block one last year.

Idaho

On Tuesday, a medical marijuana bill, HB 370, was introduced in the Idaho House. It is the brain child of Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow), who filed similar legislation last year. It got an informational hearing in the House Health & Welfare Committee, but didn't proceed. HB 370 would permit patients with debilitating medical conditions to be dispensed up to 2 ounces of marijuana every 28 days; they'd have to get it from state-authorized "alternative treatment centers."

Michigan

Last Thursday, the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pair of medical marijuana cases that could clarify the state's murky law. In one case, the issues include when someone using marijuana must have consulted a doctor and received a state-issued registration card to be legally protected under the medical marijuana law. In the second case, the court must consider what constitutes an "enclosed, locked facility" under the law.

That same day, an Oakland County circuit court judge dismissed the case against seven employees of the Clinical Relief dispensary in Ferndale. Clinical Relief was the first dispensary raided back in August 2010, and since then Michigan's Court of Appeals has ruled that person-to-person marijuana sales through dispensaries are illegal, but that ruling hadn't been made when the Ferndale workers were arrested, so the judge dismissed the case. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said she plans to appeal.

Montana

Last Friday, federal prosecutors filed charges against four more people in their ongoing offensive against the medical marijuana industry in the state. They are 33-year-old Christopher Durbin, 40-year-old Justin Maddock, 29-year-old Aaron Durbin and 33-year-old Trey Scales. Christopher Durbin also is charged with structuring, or making bank deposits of less than $10,000 in order to avoid IRS reporting requirements.

New Jersey

On January 11, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon said he would file a bill that would keep the state's medical marijuana growers from running afoul of zoning laws. The move comes after several New Jersey communities have blocked dispensaries or grows through zoning laws.

Last Thursday, Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he would not force towns to allow medical marijuana facilities. He said he would veto O'Scanlon's bill if it came to that.

On Wednesday, patients and supporters rallied at the statehouse steps in Trenton to protest Gov. Christie's failure to implement the state's medical marijuana law. The protest and press conference came two years after the measure was signed into law. There are still no dispensaries in New Jersey.

Ohio

Last Thursday, backers of a medical marijuana initiative filed language with Attorney General Mike DeWine in a first step toward getting the measure on the November ballot. The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2012, accompanied by nearly 3,000 signatures, will be submitted to DeWine to review the language summarizing the proposal. This is the second time the amendment has been submitted; the first proposal was rejected last year after DeWine said it did not fairly summarize the measure. If approved, backers will need to collect 385,245 signatures to get it on the ballot. A competing proposal, the Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment, has already been approved for signature gathering.

Virginia

Last Thursday, a bill, House Joint Resolution 139, requesting the governor to seek rescheduling of marijuana was filed in Richmond. Governors in four medical marijuana states have already called for rescheduling.

Washington, DC

On Tuesday, the DC city council approved emergency legislation limiting the number of marijuana cultivation permits in each ward to six. The measure came after residents of Ward 5 complained that because zoning restrictions closed off large swathes of the city to grows, their neighborhoods would be inundated.

A campaign to repeal marijuana prohibition in Michigan is getting ready to hit the streets with an army of volunteer signature-gatherers in a bid to put the issue before the voters in November. Campaign staffers said Tuesday state approval of final changes in the language of the proposed ballot initiative could come any day, and then petitioners will go to work.

"We are waiting for the Board of Canvassers to approve our language, and then we'll begin collecting signatures," said Brandy Zink, volunteer coordinator for the Committee for a Safer Michigan. "We're organizing at this very moment, getting our volunteers lined up."

The campaign will have until July 9 to gather the more than 322,000 valid voter signatures it needs to make the November ballot.

The ballot initiative takes the form of a constitutional amendment that would repeal the state's marijuana laws. The entire text of the amendment is as follows:

"For persons who are at least 21 years of age who are not incarcerated, marihuana acquisition, cultivation, manufacture, sale, delivery, transfer, transportation, possession, ingestion, presence in or on the body, religious, medical, industrial, agricultural, commercial or personal use, or possession or use of paraphernalia shall not be prohibited, abridged or penalized in any manner, nor subject to civil forfeiture; provided that no person shall be permitted to operate an aircraft, motor vehicle, motorboat, ORV, snowmobile, train, or other heavy or dangerous equipment or machinery while impaired by marihuana."

If the initiative were to pass, Michigan's marijuana laws would be rendered unconstitutional, and it would be "immediately incumbent on the legislature to repeal these mentions of marihuana throughout the criminal laws and infractions," the campaign said. The campaign would then ask the legislature to adopt sensible taxes and regulations, but believes "they'll beat us to it."

The campaign also argues that repealing the marijuana laws is within the purview of individual states and would not create a conflict with federal law that could preempt repeal. "The state of Michigan has the sovereign power to adopt and amend a constitution and both pass and repeal laws concerning everything not specifically reserved to the federal government," the campaign argues.

The repeal initiative is largely a response to the intense hostility with which some segments of Michigan law enforcement, led by Attorney General Bill Schuette (R), have reacted to the state's medical marijuana law, approved by 63% of the voters in 2008. Schuette, who sees the medical marijuana law as a cover for drug dealing, used a 2010 appeals court ruling that some sales of medical marijuana at dispensaries were illegal to declare that all dispensaries were illegal, unleashing a round of raids on dispensaries.

Last June, Schuette struck again against medical marijuana, issuing an opinion that: "The possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, even if it is possessed for medicinal purposes in accordance with the state law."

That has led to doctors across the state refusing to sign medical marijuana recommendations for fear of prosecution, which in turn has led to a tightening of access for patients. The supply situation has been further aggravated by actions in more than 60 Michigan counties or cities to restrict or ban medical marijuana. Just last month, an Oakland County circuit court judge ruled against a Birmingham couple who, with the help of the ACLU, had sued to overturn bans in several Oakland County communities.

"Our amendment is directed at the abject failure of marijuana prohibition, and also the interference by state officials with implementing our medical marijuana law and their increased aggression against patients and caregivers," said campaign spokesperson Charmie Gholson.

She accused the state law enforcement establishment of plotting to undo the will of the voters by going through the courts.

"When the people of Michigan overwhelmingly passed that law, the prohibitionists knew they would need a supermajority to amend it because it was voter-initiated," Gholson said. "What we see them doing is arresting people anyway in hostile areas throughout the state, then the judge would rule against them, then the prosecutor would appeal. They're working these cases up to the conservatively-stacked state Supreme Court."

Zink, too, cited the hostile response of law enforcement, the Michigan courts, and Attorney General Schuette to the state's voter approved medical marijuana law as the motive force behind the initiative campaign.

"The medical cannabis community and others here are concerned about this issue in part because of abuse of our law here by law enforcement and our attorney general," said Zink. "We've been holding meetings since October trying to come up with ways to resolve this, and after much debate and deep thought, we decided to just end cannabis prohibition in Michigan."

For the time being, at least, the campaign is relying on volunteers to get the signatures. That's a tough task when you need more than 322,000 valid signatures, but the campaign is undaunted.

"Right now, it's an all-volunteer effort, and it's going well," said Zink. "Our web site has been up for less than two weeks, and we've got volunteers recruited in nearly every county. It's a very dedicated and passionate group of people. "The community is fairly unified," Zink said. "Everyone has fought really hard for what we have, and some are a bit fearful of a backlash from law enforcement and the attorney general. But we're already being attacked by them anyway, and we've decided we have to fight for what is right."

It takes money to run an initiative campaign and pretty big money to run anything other than an all-volunteer campaign in a state the size of Michigan. The campaign is currently engaged in fundraising at the state level and hints that it may seek outside support as well.

"We're working on fundraising and hoping people will make contributions to the Committee for a Safer Michigan," Zink said. "We're doing our best right here in Michigan, and while we would love outside support, we haven't actively sought it… yet."

Using the initiative process, Michigan was the first state in the Midwest to legalize medical marijuana. Now, it could become the first state in the country to repeal pot prohibition, but only if the Committee for a Safer Michigan manages to make the ballot in the first place, and then to convince Michigan voters to pass their initiative.

Here's the latest from the medical marijuana skirmishes:

Arizona

A federal judge Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) that had blocked the implementation of the state's voter-approved medical marijuana dispensary program. Brewer and state health officials had sued to ask the court for clarification about whether the state's medical marijuana law was preempted by federal drug laws, saying they feared going forward would put state employees at risk of federal prosecution.

California

On December 21, California Attorney General Kamala Harris sent a letter to top lawmakers in which she warned that any efforts to regulate medical marijuana via the legislative process will be limited by the state constitution and by the federal government's enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act. In the letter, she noted that an appeals court ruling (Pack v. Superior Court) found that state regulation of large scale medical marijuana cultivation "stands as an obstacle to federal enforcement efforts and is therefore preempted by the Federal Controlled Substances Act."

But Harris also noted that because Proposition 215 was enacted by voter initiative, any legislative regulation that would "undo what the people have done" would be unconstitutional under state law. Still, Harris wrote, the legislature needs to intervene because there are "significant unresolved legal questions" regarding parts of the initiative that allow for collaborative cultivation and the legality of dispensaries.

"I hope that the foregoing suggestions are helpful to you in crafting legislation," Harris concluded. "California law places a premium on patients' rights to access marijuana for medical use. In any legislative action that is taken, the voters' decision to allow physicians to recommend marijuana to treat seriously ill patients must be respected."

Also on December 21, the Happy Wellness Center in Newark reopened a week after being raided by state agents. "There's no way that me, the way I am, could just sit back and not open," said the center's CEO, Justin Hammer. "If I felt we were doing anything wrong, anything illegal, I wouldn't be here." The Happy Wellness Center operated for 105 days before the raid and originally opened before the city ban on such operations. An attorney for the collective says only a court order will change their position.

On December 23, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department returned 2 pounds of medicinal marijuana to a dispensary from which it was seized earlier this month. The move came after a Superior Court judge the same day ordered them to return the medicine. It had been seized in a December 1 raid at the Common Roots Collective.

On December 23, two Long Beach dispensary operators, Jon Grumbine and Joseph Byron, were found guilty of marijuana trafficking after prosecutors argued the men operated the businesses for profit, which is forbidden under state law.

On December 26, medical marijuana patients rallied and marched in San Diego to protest the federal crackdown and recalcitrant local authorities. A crowd of 50 to 75 people showed up, including Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, who is running for mayor. 

On December 28, Riverside County officials said they had begun legal action to close down about three dozen dispensaries in unincorporated areas. The county asked a Riverside County Superior Court judge to declare Platinum Collective in Home Gardens a public nuisance. The county is seeking civil penalties of $1,000 for each day Platinum Collective has been open since March 7, when the business was notified it was operating illegally, and wants reimbursement for the cost of abatement, investigation and enforcement. Dispensaries are illegal under a ban the Board of Supervisors approved in 2006.

On December 29, veteran activist Steve Kubby filed a municipal initiative in South Lake Tahoe to control marijuana odor and rewrite restrictive cultivation rules. The city has 15 days from then to write a title and summary so the signature-gathering process can begin.

In late December, San Francisco's Market Street Co-op announced it would close January 9 due to pressure on its landlords from the feds. "A San Francisco Assistant United States Attorney threatened our landlords with property forfeiture if the cooperative does not stop dispensing cannabis at our current location," the dispensary noted.

On New Year's Eve, Sacramento's One Love Wellness Center closed its doors. The dispensary had had its bank account seized by federal authorities in September after a Treasury Department criminal task force alleged that the dispensary structured $102,713 in deposits in small amounts to skirt rules requiring financial establishments to report all deposits of $10,000 or more to the Internal Revenue Service. No charges have been filed, but One Love was under additional pressure after Sacramento US Attorney Benjamin Wagner sent out a notice threatening its landlord with seizure of its property if marijuana sales continued on site. One Love said the move will cost 20 jobs. The dispensary also noted that it had paid more than $227,000 into state coffers in sales taxes last year and nearly $50,000 to the city of Sacramento. About two dozen dispensaries remain in the city, but nearly a hundred Sacramento County dispensaries have been shut down since supervisors decided they weren't permitted in unincorporated communities.

On Tuesday, medical marijuana patients in Shasta County began seeking to oust Sheriff Tom Bosenko in the latest skirmish in the on-going war between them and county officials. Bosenko was handed a recall notice Tuesday by patient and advocate Rob McDonald after he suggested tightening restrictions on medical marijuana cultivation in the county. Recall notices are being prepared for supervisors David Kehoe and Les Baugh, though neither has been presented yet, McDonald said. He is also targeting for recall Redding City Council members Patrick Jones, Francie Sullivan and Rick Bosetti in response to the city's dispensary ban, passed in November.

Also in Redding, Shasta County Superior Court Judge Stephen Baker granted the city of Anderson's request for a preliminary injunction against the Green Heart, the city's only dispensary. The judge gave Green Heart until next Tuesday to appeal.

Also on Tuesday, in Lakeport, the Lake County Board of Supervisors rescinded an October cultivation ordinance in response to a successful referendum petition. The Lake County Citizens for Responsible Regulations and the Lake County Green Farmers Association want less stringent rules than those passed by the board. The board could have let the voters decide in a special election, but decided that would be too expensive, and just repealed the ordinance.

And also on Tuesday, Riverside County officials raided numerous dispensaries in the Lakeland Village area. Police, county code enforcement, and a county attorney came knocking on doors to let dispensaries know they must shut down within 72 hours or face legal action. The move came after the county Board of Supervisors last month authorized county attorneys to sue any dispensaries still open in unincorporated areas of the county.

Colorado

On December 22, Colorado became the fourth state to ask the DEA to reschedule marijuana. The head of the state Department of Revenue made the request in compliance with state law. Colorado now joins Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington in seeking rescheduling.

Rhode Island

On December 27, Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox said he will personally petition the federal Department of Justice to see how Rhode Island can open the large-scale dispensaries for growing and selling marijuana that advocates have long sought. Fox disagrees with Gov. Lincoln Chafee's decision to halt the process of issuing dispensary permits in the face of federal threats.

Washington

On December 15, state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles released a summary of a proposed comprehensive medical marijuana bill. The Cannabis Defense Coalition had some issues with it; click the link to find out more.

On December 21, a state medical board that regulates medical marijuana has scheduled a hearing in Renton for January 11 to consider adding Attention Deficit Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as qualifying conditions.

On December 27, the town of Castle Rock approved zoning regulations for medical marijuana gardens. Under the zoning rules, group gardens only are allowed in two commercial areas east of Interstate 5 near exits 48 and 49. The gardens must not be able to be viewed from public streets and must be locked or otherwise secured. Any planned group garden also must be inspected by city officials. The city is trying to keep gardens away from schools and public areas.

So much is going on in the world of medical marijuana that we cannot adequately cover it all through news briefs and the occasional feature article. The news briefs and feature articles will, of course, continue, but we now include a weekly medical marijuana update at least noting all those stories we are unable to cover more comprehensively. Here's the second one:

National

Last Friday, responding to questioning from Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Attorney General Eric Holder reiterated the Justice Department's support for its 2009 Ogden memo, which said the use and sale of medical marijuana in states where it is legal should be a low priority for federal prosecutors.

"What we said in the memo we still intend, which is that given the limited resources that we have, and if there are states that have medical marijuana provisions... if in fact people are not using the policy decision that we have made to use marijuana in a way that's not consistent with the state statute, we will not use our limited resources in that way," Holder said. "Where a state has taken a position, has passed a law and people are acting in conformity with the law -- not abusing the law -- that would not be a priority with the limited resources of our Justice Department," Holder said.

Arizona

Last Friday, a former nurse fired from Verde Valley Community Hospice because she is a medical marijuana user filed a lawsuit seeking damages in Maricopa County Superior Court. Arizona's medical marijuana law contains an anti-discrimination provision that says an employer may not make decisions on hiring, firing or discipline based on the person's status as a registered medical marijuana patient. The law even says that a positive drug test for marijuana from someone who is a registered user cannot be used against that employee unless the person either used, possessed or was impaired at the worksite. This case will be the first test of that law.

On Monday, a US district court judge harshly criticized the state's medical marijuana lawsuit, saying Arizona had to pick a side in the conflict over state and federal law. Judge Susan Bolton did not dismiss the case, saying she would issue a ruling later, but she told state attorneys she would throw it out unless the state decides whether or not to support its own law. Gov. Jan Brewer (R) filed the lawsuit in May, stalling the state's medical marijuana dispensary permit process.

On Wednesday, responding to the court's criticism, Gov. Brewer decided the state will argue that federal law preempts the state medical marijuana law and ask Judge Bolton to rule the state cannot regulate and permit medical marijuana dispensaries.

California

On December 7, the Live Oak City Council voted to ban residents from growing their own medical marijuana. The council cited "an unbearable stench and fear of violence." A final vote on the ban is set for next week, and the ban would take effect 30 days after that, on January 20.

On December 8, the La Puente City Council voted to order one dispensary shut down and gave another until February to show that it has not recouped costs of opening. The city banned medical marijuana dispensaries last year, but allowed some to continue operating temporarily during an amortization period while they attempt to recoup their investment costs.

On December 8, a Pomona police SWAT team raided the Natural Remedies dispensary. Police had a search warrant. A Rialto man was arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale. Police seized a pound of weed, cash, and weapons.

Last Friday, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana announced it would close its doors as of this weekend. MAMM, the state's oldest dispensary, had been targeted by federal prosecutors. Another Marin County collective, Medi-Cone, shut down last week because of scrutiny by federal authorities.

On Tuesday, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted an ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated parts of the county and narrowly passed a second law hours later regulating pot growth for county residents. The cultivation ordinance bans growing inside residences, but allows it in detached accessory structures and sets limits for outdoor growing regardless of how many patients live at a residence.

On Tuesday, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support the idea of lifting federal marijuana prohibition for states that have marijuana laws in place. "Inconsistencies in local, state and federal law create challenges within our public safety system network and criminal justice system. There are a record number of ballot initiatives in the coming election cycle calling for the legalization of marijuana. Mendocino County supports the regulation, legalization, and taxation of marijuana," the supervisors said.

On Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors voted to close all dispensaries in the county's jurisdiction. The board had approved an ordinance allowing up to five dispensaries in August, but that ordinance was overturned after advocates began a referendum petition to undo it. Supervisors then voted to rescind the ordinance, making dispensaries illegal in the county. The 10 dispensaries in the county will have 30 days to shut down.

On Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on new dispensaries. The board cited uncertainty about whether local governments can regulate dispensaries in the wake of the Pack vs. Long Beach case, in which the court held that federal law preempted Long Beach's right to regulate marijuana. The moratorium will not affect the county's three existing dispensaries.

On Tuesday, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize its attorneys to sue any dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county unless they close immediately. The county has banned dispensaries from operating in unincorporated areas of the county since 2006. Nonetheless, county officials estimate that at least 36 dispensaries are open in violation of the ban.

Colorado

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) will not join fellow governors Lincoln Chafee (I) of Rhode Island, Christine Gregoire (D) of Washington, and Peter Shumlin (D) of Vermont in petitioning the federal government to reschedule marijuana, but the state of Colorado will independently seek rescheduling. Colorado's medical marijuana law requires the Colorado Department of Revenue to make the same request of the feds by no later than January 2012. State officials said that will be done.

The number of registered medical marijuana patients has declined dramatically from its peak of more than 128,000 in June. As of the end of October, the state's registry showed only 88,000 patients. It's unclear what the decline means. Some patients could be dropping out temporarily because registration costs will drop next year, but the state has at least 4,200 applications on hold because of problems with doctors' signatures, and 30,000 applications were in the system as of the end of last month.

Michigan

Last Friday, state and local police raided three medical marijuana dispensaries in Tuscola, Sanilac and St. Clair counties Friday for alleged involvement in the the illegal trafficking of marijuana. They included the Blue Water Compassion Center and a private residence in Kimball Township, as well as Blue Water Compassion Centers in Denmark Township in Tuscola County and Worth Township in Sanilac County. Police confiscated marijuana and marijuana-laced tinctures, topical oils, capsules, and medicated edibles. Patient files, money and toys donated to Toys for Tots also were taken, but no arrests were made. The three centers are owned by Jim and Debra Amsdill. Combined, the centers have about 26 staff and roughly 3,500 members.

New Jersey

Last Friday, the state Agriculture Development Committee ruled that medical marijuana may be grown and processed on preserved farms. Preserved farms are areas designated only for agricultural usage. The committee's move came after residents of Upper Freehold implored it not to recognize medical marijuana as an agricultural crop allowed on preserved farmland. They also criticized the process that allowed a federally outlawed drug to be grown and distributed here in the first place. The Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center has expressed interest in at least five properties in Upper Freehold as sites for growing medical marijuana, and some of them are preserved farms.