Global Ganja Report

President Barack Obama clarified his position on medical marijuana in an interview with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, to appear in the May 10 issue: "What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana. I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana—and the reason is, because it's against federal law. I can't nullify congressional law."

Israel's High Court of Justice on April 17 rejected a petition by a cannabis legalization group asking for a police permit allowing participants to publicly smoke the herb at a "420" rally in Tel Aviv advocating legalization. The petition was filed by the Dor Haemet (Generation of Truth) youth movement. According to Dor Haemet, Israel has over 1 million cannabis users. (InfoLive TV, Israel, April 17; Jerusalem Post, April 10)

Organizers failed to win an emergency temporary restraining order in Boulder District Court barring the University of Colorado from closing its Boulder campus to the public on April 20—the day of what has become an annual "420" cannabis smoke-in. Police showed up in force and even spread the campus' Norlin Quadrangle with foul-smelling fish fertilizer to keep tokers away from their intended gathering point. But a few hundred protesters defied the crackdown and rallied on another field—where many lit up at 4:20 PM.

On April 18, the US Coast Guard announced the interception of its 30th semi-submersible cocaine-smuggling vessel in less than six years, pointing to the widespread use of "narco-submarines" by traffickrs making their way up the Central American coast from Colombia. The Coast Guard said that two of its cutters, the Decisive and Pea Island, chased down the sub on March 30 in the western Caribbean, crediting collaboration with the Honduran navy. The Coast Guard released a photo of the sub's bow painted with shark's teeth as it disappeared beneath the waves. The crew scuttled the craft before they were taken into custody, sending their load to the bottom of the sea.

A number of California winemakers are secretly producing wines laced with cannabis, Cabernet Sauvignon being the variety of choice for the blend, reports trade journal The Drinks Business April 16. "Pot wine is increasingly fashionable in wine country—much of the marijuana used for the wine comes from California's weed capital Humboldt County," Crane Carter, president of the Napa Valley Marijuana Growers said. "Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stag’s Leap district is thought to pair particularly well with pot." According to Carter, cannabis wine delivers a quicker high than pot brownies, and the combination of alcohol and THC produces "an interesting little buzz."

The city of Walnut succeeded in shutting down the Natural California Medicine cannabis collective in mid-April, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed a complaint filed on behalf of the dispensary. The city of Walnut's municipal code prohibits the sale of marijuana, despite the state law that allows its use for medical purposes. California courts have in recent months overturned such municipal bans, and the issue will be heard this year by the state supreme court. (Walnut Patch, April 15)

Amid a growing federal crackdown, medical marijuana advocates in San Diego County have announced plans to expand their efforts beyond the city of San Diego, proposing ballot initiatives in five other municipalities to tax and regulate storefront dispensaries. The proposals—filed in Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Lemon Grove and La Mesa—would limit the dispensaries to commercial and industrial areas and impose a 2.5% tax on retail transactions. They also would allow municipalities to establish security measures and hours of operation and require licensing. The proposed ballot measures largely mirror one planned for the city of San Diego. All are being coordinated by Citizens for Patient Rights and the Patient Care Association, a trade organization of nonprofit dispensaries.

The number of registered medical marijuana cardholders in Montana fell below 12,000 as of March 31 for the first time in two years, the Billings Gazette reported April 13. A total of 11,993 cardholders had registered as of March 31 with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services Marijuana Program—after peaking a year ago at 31,522. In addition, there were 421 medical marijuana providers, previously called caregivers, registered with the state as of March 31—down from 4,848 a year ago. The number of physicians who can recommend the use of medical marijuana to cardholders is also down—to 254 from a peak of 365 as of last June. Activists and patients blame federal raids and restrictive new legislation in the state.