WASHINGTON - July 16 - The U.S. House today passed legislation that removes a decade-old provision that has prevented Washington, D.C., from implementing the medical marijuana law passed by 69 percent of capital voters in 1998.

Known as the Barr amendment, the provision has forbidden the city from extending legal protection to qualified medical marijuana patients and has been derided by advocates for years as an unconscionable intrusion by the federal government into the District's affairs.

WASHINGTON - June 12 - In another effort to change federal policy on medical marijuana, Congressional Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the "Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act," HR 2835, late yesterday. The bill, which was co-sponsored by 13 bipartisan Members of Congress at the time of introduction, would change federal policy on medical marijuana in a number of ways.

LOS ANGELES - June 11 - A medical marijuana dispensary operator whose federal case has gained considerable attention in the media was sentenced today to one year in prison and four years of supervised release. Charles C. Lynch was convicted in 2008 under the Bush Administration and had been awaiting sentencing under the new Obama Administration. The sentence handed down by federal District Court Judge George H.

LOS ANGELES - June 10 - The Justice Department is seeking a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for state and locally sanctioned medical marijuana provider Charles C. Lynch, despite statements of a new policy and no evidence of state law violations. Lynch was convicted in federal court in 2008 under the Bush Administration and will be sentenced this Thursday at 9:30am in Los Angeles federal district court. At a previous hearing, Judge George H. Wu indicated that he doesn't think this case "is one which merits a mandatory minimum" sentence.

LOS ANGELES - April 21 - Legal counsel for the advocacy organization Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will appear on behalf of Charles C. Lynch at his federal sentencing hearing on Thursday, April 23rd to challenge the federal government's claim of state law violations. Even though defendants are prevented from using a medical marijuana defense in federal court, they can argue state law compliance at sentencing. ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford will argue that Lynch in no way violated state law, something that U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien has alleged in his sentencing recommendations.

SAN FRANCISCO - March 26 - Advocates are protesting a federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raid yesterday on a San Francisco medical marijuana dispensary, and are urging the Obama Administration to implement its policy change aimed at ending the previous Administrations' tactics of conducting such raids. Yesterday afternoon federal agents stormed Emmalyn's, a medical marijuana facility licensed by the City of San Francisco, seizing an unknown amount of marijuana, money and other property, but made no arrests. The DEA raid comes only one week after U.S.