Global Ganja Report

Patients and medical cannabis advocates protested outside of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court earlier this month to draw attention to the heavy-handed raids and arrests that took place the week of Dec. 27. During a three-day period, as many as 50 Narcotics Task Force officers from local and state enforcement agencies raided seven collectively-run medical cannabis delivery services, arresting 15 people on felony charges and held them on bails of up to $100,000. Several of those arrested were charged with child endangerment, after Child Protective Services removed at least six children from the homes of three different families.

The country's leading medical cannabis advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief Jan. 27 defending the privacy rights of patients across the US. The federal case US v. Michigan Department of Community Health is the response to the Justice Department seeking private patient records from the state's medical marijuana program.

Federal, state and local officials in a Northern California counter-terrorism drill  last week played out a scenario in which local cannabis growers set off bombs and took over the Shasta Dam, the nation’s second largest, to free an imprisoned comrade. A local news report said that in the mock-terror scenario, a cannabis growers' "red cell" set off bus and car bombs as distractions, took over the dam with three hostages, and then "threatened to flood the Sacramento River by rolling open the drum gates atop the dam."

The new Dutch government, which took office last month, has unveiled a policy to limit the sale of cannabis to Netherlands residents. "No tourist attractions. We don't like that," the new security minister, Ivo Opstelten, told public broadcaster NOS. "The heart of the problem is crime and disturbances surrounding the sale. We have to go back to what it was meant for: local use for those who would like it."

Arizona voters approved Proposition 203, authorizing the possession of up to two-and-a-half ounces of medical marijuana, according to results released by the Arizona Secretary of State Nov. 13. The measure, voted on during the midterm elections earlier this month, was too close to call on election night and remained so until all votes were counted this weekend, resulting in a final tally of 50.13-49.87%.

The New Mexico Department of Health is expanding its medical cannabis program with the approval of six new non-profits to produce the herb for patients. This brings the total number of such producers to 17. There are currently 2,807 medical cannabis patients, with 1,266 of those having individual permits to grow for personal use.

Police in the New Zealand capital of Wellington are weighing charges against a group of protesters who invaded the city's central police station with a cart full of burning cannabis. The activists had been demonstrating on the parliament grounds by smoking openly in front of police and security, as party of an ongoing civil disobedience campaign.

Some 30,000 Dutch households have started receiving cannabis-scented scratchcards in an effort to uncover illegal plantations. Authorities in Rotterdam and The Hague say they are distributing the cards to help citizens recognize what cannabis plants smell like. The cards also include a telephone number to report suspected cannabis growing. (BBC News, Nov. 11)