Global Ganja Report

A former presidential candidate in Mexico and prominent member of President Felipe Calderón’s National Action Party (PAN) was declared missing May 15, in an attack being blamed on narco gangs. The car of Diego Fernández de Cevallos was found near his ranch in the state of Queretaro, the Prosecutor General's Office confirmed. Authorities say they found his belongings in the car and "signs of violence."

Colombia's presidential election on May 30 is developing into an unexpectedly tight race between Juan Manuel Santos—incumbent hardliner Alvaro Uribe's former defense minister who pledges to continue the current aggressive military campaign against drugs and guerillas—and Antanas Mockus, reformist, anti-corruption candidate of the Green Party (Partido Verde). In February, President Uribe was constitutionally barred from running for a third term, leaving Santos as his heir-apparent and presumed shoe-in. But polls are showing Mockus' potential as an upset victor.

Indigenous communities in Colombia's southwestern department of Cauca issued a statement May 11 calling upon all armed fighters to leave their territory, following the intensification of clashes between FARC guerillas and the army that left many civilians injured, displaced, or dead. "We have been left alone in the midst of the bullets of legal and illegal armed groups," said Miller Correa, indigenous governor of the indigenous community of Tacueyó, Toribío municipality.

At least six people were killed—three of Serbian nationality and three Bolivians—and one was kidnapped in an assault perpetrated by suspected drug traffickers in Bolivia's eastern department of Santa Cruz on May 15. The victims were stopped at a false police checkpoint and were tied up, tortured and executed, authorities said.

Rick Morse, operator of the Medmar Clinic in Fresno, CA, is behind bars after a judge ruled that he violated a court order not to sell cannabis. During a court appearance May 14, Morse told Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald Franson that he was still distributing cannabis. With the admission, Morse was handcuffed and ordered to spend 15 days in jail. He was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Judge Franson also approved a request by Fresno's deputy city attorney to file a motion to shut down the dispensary. (AP, May 14)

Medical marijuana advocates in Montana are condemning recent arson attempts against two local dispensaries. Two separate attempts to set fire to medicinal cannabis dispensaries occurred last week in Billings. At both locations, the words "Not in Our Town" were spray-painted on the storefronts. These acts of intimidation come as the city is considering a temporary ban or moratorium on new dispensaries, in order to allow for the development of a regulatory ordinance.

The Missouri state legislature passed a bill May 13 banning the popular incense known as K2, which is said to mimic the effects of cannabis. If Gov. Jay Nixon sign the bill, the incense will be illegal to smoke, buy or sell in the state. Kansas passed similar legislation in March. Small businesses selling the K2 oppose the measure. While a May 13 account in The State Column refers to K2 as "synthetic marijuana," the blog What Is K2 calls it an "herbal smoke blend."

Cannabis Medical Solutions Inc., a leading company specializing in both physical-world and online payment solutions and financial security products for medical marijuana dispensaries, on May 13 announced that the company is in negotiations to acquire and open at least two medical marijuana dispensaries within the state of California.