Global Ganja Report

A Dutch court fined the owner of the Netherlands' biggest cannabis-selling coffee shop 10 million euros ($13.3 million) on March 25 for keeping more than the maximum tolerated 500 grams (18 oz.) on the premises. Owner Meddie Willemsen, tried along with 15 staff of the Checkpoint coffee shop in Terneuzen, also received a 16-week prison term, although he was given credit for having served this time  after his arrest and released.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) March 9 denounced efforts by the UN International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) as it met in Vienna to meddle in United States marijuana law reform efforts. In a recent report, the INCB said it was "deeply concerned" that 14 state medical marijuana laws are sending the "wrong message to other countries."

At the 53rd meeting of the UN Committee on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, which ended March 12, Russia blasted the US and NATO for their failure to halt drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Moscow's drug czar Victor Ivanov said at least 30,000 people died in Russia every year from heroin, 90% of it from Afghanistan. He blamed the Obama administration for ending a military drive to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghan fields.

Uzbekistan's special police force seized more than 46 kilograms (over 100 pounds) of opium and heroin in a raid on a a residential home near the border with Tajikistan, the Uzbek National Security Service announced March 20. One local resident was detained. The former Soviet Central Asian states are considered a major trafficking route for drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe. An estimated 90% of heroin consumed in Russia is trafficked from Afghanistan via Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. (RIA Novosti, March 20)

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office released its 12th annual human rights report March 17, just as Foreign Secretary David Miliband returned from an official visit to China. The report singles out China for harsh criticism. Miliband said at the report's launch, "In China, 2009 ended with the execution of a mentally ill British citizen Akmal Shaikh, and the imprisonment of prominent human rights activists, whose cases I raised in China yesterday and the day before."

After years of relative peace, Burma's military junta is said to be preparing an offensive against the ethnic guerilla armies of the Golden Triangle. In the village of Doi Tailaeng, on Burma's border with Thailand, militants of the 10,000-strong Shan State Army (SSA) are carrying out maneuvers in preparation for the expected onslaught. "We are preparing for new battles," said SSA commander Sao Yawd Serk.

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) hailed the Hindu spring festival Holi in a statement before the House of Representatives March 25. "It is a visually stunning event with thousands of people tossing colored powders in the air and using dyed water in an atmosphere where culture, camaraderie and oneness are celebrated," Israel said. "In the evening, community bonfires are lit to signify triumph over divisiveness and negativity."

A joint force of Afghan government troops and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stopped a vehicle and found 1,600 pounds of hashish in Helmand province's Registan district March 21. Two people in the vehicle were detained. They admitted their intent was to deliver the drugs to Taliban members in Barham Chah, the US military said. (DoD press release, March 22)