Global Ganja Report

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.

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.

On April 2, a bipartisan group of legislators from five medical marijuana states—California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, and Washington—issued an open letter to President Barack Obama opposing the federal crackdown and calling upon his administration to "respect our state laws." The lawmakers underscored that such an aggressive policy "makes no sense" and is "not a good use of our resources," recalling Obama's original pledge to de-emphasize enforcement in states with medical marijuana laws.

A coalition of medical marijuana patients, activists, dispensing centers, and concerned citizens has compelled public officials to stand up to recent federal attacks. Last week, the new coalition "San Francisco United for Safe Access" held a press conference with several city supervisors and state officials, decrying the Obama administration's aggressive tactics before a crowd of more than 500 supporters. By Friday April 6, San Francisco United had secured a statement from Mayor Ed Lee, expressing his opposition to "recent federal actions targeting duly permitted medicinal cannabis dispensaries...that aim to limit our citizens’ ability to have safe access to the medicine they need."

Dozens of federal agents on April 2 raided Oakland's famed Oaksterdam University and the Lake Merritt area apartment of its owner Richard Lee, California's most prominent cannabis advocate. The armed agents, some wearing face masks, came to the locations with a battering ram, sledgehammer and power saws. Agents from the DEA, IRS and Marshals Service carted away loads of cannabis as well as numerous file boxes, did but not reveal the purpose of the raids, other than to call it part of an "ongoing investigation."