Global Ganja Report

A UC San Diego student left in a federal holding cell for days without food and water has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the government. Daniel Chong, 23, was picked up in a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raid April 21. After questioning him, agents told him that he would not be charged and to wait in the holding cell until they finished the paperwork to release him. He spent four days alone in the cell, apparently forgotten.

US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a statement May 2 condemning the escalated attacks on state-compliant medical marijuana businesses in her state. Responding to the recent federal crackdown on California dispensaries, Pelosi said she has "long supported" and will "continue to strongly support" efforts to "advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law."*

A Dutch court on April 27 upheld a law that will prevent foreigners from buying cannabis in coffee shops, spelling an end to decades of "pot tourism" in the Netherlands. The decision means coffee shops in three southern provinces must stop selling cannabis to foreigners on May 1, when the law takes effect. A so-called "weed pass" is allowed for Dutch citizens and permanent residents. Coffee shops in the southern provinces of Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg bordering Belgium (see map) will become members-only clubs, allowed to issue up to 2,000 membership cards—known as "weed passes"—to residents over the age of 18.The plan will go nationwide in January 2013.

The 21st annual Extravaganja festival was held April 28 on the town common of Amherst, Mass. Sponsored by the UMass Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition, the event featured six live bands and several speakers in addition to many vendors selling everything from glass pipes to hemp food products. Police said 33 people were cited for possession of under an ounce of marijuana, a civil offense that carries a $100 fine in Massachusetts. Town authorities turned down organizers' request for a permit for a two-day event, which had been granted last year on an experimental basis for the festival's 20th anniversary. (The Republican, Springfield, April 28; The Republican, April 12)

Police arrested 11 suspects and seized 2,500 cannabis plants in a raid of a "heavily fortified" warehouse in East Oakland, authorities announced April 26. Oakland police, including SWAT team members, converged on the warehouse on the 900 block of 89th Ave., which was rigged for video surveillance and had doors bolstered with reinforced steel. In addition to the plants, officers seized 50 pounds of "dried, processed" cannabis; $40,000 in cash; four handguns; a shotgun; two assault rifles; two sets of body armor; and a "ballistics face mask" and helmets, the police department said. "This is one of the largest marijuana recoveries in recent years in the city of Oakland," said Assistant Chief Anthony Toribio. "This was a well-organized marijuana factory." (San Francisco Chronicle, April 27)

The San Francisco Democratic Party adopted a resolution April 25 demanding that President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and US Attorney Melinda Haag "cease all Federal actions in San Francisco immediately, respect State and local laws, and stop the closure of City-permitted medical cannabis facilities." The resolution was co-sponsored by 21 members of the party's San Francisco County Central Committee (DCCC) including its author Gabriel Haaland, Assembly member Tom Ammiano, State Senator Leland Yee, Supervisor David Campos, Supervisor David Chiu, former State Senator Carole Migden, and former Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

Four Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screeners in Los Angeles were arrested April 24 for accepting bribes from drug traffickers. Two current and two former Los Angeles International Airport screeners are accused of looking the other way as cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine stuffed into carry-on bags passed through their X-ray machines—in exchange for payments of as much as $2,400—on five separate occasions. "This case underscores the unique nature of 21st century drug smuggling," said Briane Grey the acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA office in Los Angeles. "The defendants traded on their positions at one the world's most crucial airport security checkpoints and used their special access for criminal ends." (UPI, Reuters, April 25)

Three Mexican suspects were arrested April 24 after an ocean pursuit off the coast of Malibu. Los Angeles County lifeguards notified the sheriff's Malibu/Lost Hills Station of a suspicious boat about 50 feet off Latigo Beach. Deputies confirmed it was a panga boat and called the US Department of Homeland Security, which deployed an air and marine unit. Homeland Security's bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the Mexican nationals were arrested following a chase that ended about 11 nautical miles southwest of Point Dume. Shortly before the pursuit ensued, the panga's occupants began tossing bales of compacted cannabis overboard. The US Coast Guard has recovered more than 80 bales.