Global Ganja Report

Residents of Kington's poor district of Tivoli Gardens reacted with shock and disbelief to the news that extradited accused drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke arranged a plea bargain this week at Federal District Court in Manhattan. "I'm devastated," one anonymous member of the Coke clan told the Jamaica Gleaner. Scores were killed in days of street-fighting in the district last year as police and army troops were deployed to hunt down Coke for extradition to the US.

East Bay physician Dr. Frank Lucido, Mendocino activist Pebbles Trippet and attorney William Panzer have announced a new California initiative to legalize the state's biggest cash crop. The Repeal Cannabis Prohibition Act of 2012 would allow adults to legally possess up to three pounds and grow a ten-by-ten-foot garden, with the California Department of Public Health to oversee the commercial side. The text of the initiative has been submitted to the state Attorney General's office for review.

Sweet Leaf Pioneer owner Dave Manzanares in Eagle, Colo., must shut down his medical marijuana dispensary Oct. 31, even if he proceeds with plans to collect signatures for a special election to keep it open in the long term. On Aug. 23, Manzanares told members of the town board that he is circulating petitions to put the question to the voters, and asked for an extension beyond the Oct. 31 deadline established by a municipal ordinance. "Our family's future is in the balance here," Manzanares said.

A Michigan court of appeals ruled Aug. 23 that medicinal cannabis cannot be sold at private dispensaries. The defendants were owners of the Compassionate Apothecary, a privately owned dispensary that facilitates patient-to-patient transfer of cannabis using a locker system for patients to store and trade. Compassionate Apothecary retains 20% of proceeds from each transaction, and has 345 members, all certified by the state to use cannabis for medicinal purposes. An Isabella county prosecutor filed the complaint, seeking to enjoin operations for failing to comply with the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA). (Detroit Free Press, Aug. 25; Jurist, Aug. 24)

The US Navy transport ship USS New Orleans recovered an estimated 1,800 pounds of cannabis from a small boat off the coast of San Diego Aug. 20. Coast Guard officials received a call about a 20-foot fishing boat apparently from Mexico, and requested the New Orleans respond as they were operating in the vicinity. As the New Orleans approached, the boat's crew dumped several bundles overboard. Officials said some 1,800 pounds of cannabis was recovered from the dumped bundles. The recovered cannabis and several crew members were turned over to the Mexican navy.

The 20th annual Seattle Hempfest drew an estimated 300,000 the weekend of Aug. 19-21—including some big-name politicians. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) exhorted from the stage, in an apparent reference to the 1999 World Trade Organization protests: "Seattle you shook the world once; can you shake it again, I ask you!" He urged support for such issues as withdrawal of US military troops from around the world, gay rights and universal health care, as well as an end to the war on drugs. Mike McGinn became the first Seattle mayor to address the Hempfest crowd. Other speakers included state representatives Roger Goodman and Mary Lou Dickerson, and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes.

A small Massachusetts-based company called Medicinal Genomics has announced the sequencing of the entire genomes of the species cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, opening the way for more research into the therapeutic effects of the plant—including its potential for treating cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company published the genetic code Aug. 18 on Amazon.com's EC2 cloud-computing system.

The government of Peru's newly elected President Ollanta Humala announced this week that it is suspending the US-backed coca eradication program in the Upper Huallaga Valley, the only ongoing eradication campaign in the country. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Peru has surpassed Colombia as the world's top coca producer, although Colombia maintains a slight lead in cocaine production.