Global Ganja Report

Law enforcement agents in six Northern California counties are preparing for the largest series of cannabis raids yet conducted in the Emerald Triangle.  "Operation Full Court Press" will unleash hundreds of local, state and federal agents, first targeting the Mendocino National Forest, combing the mountains for illegal growers who authorities say have set up "huge plantations" deep in the woods, some reportedly numbering tens of thousands of plants. Law enforcement contends that many of the illegal growers are Mexican nationals who are linked to large drug-trafficking cartels. As evidence of a strong Mexico connection, prosecutors point to hundreds of Mexican nationals arrested in recent years at illegal outdoor grows in the Golden State. (California Watch, July 21)

The country's leading medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), with the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC), on July 21 appealed a recent decision by the federal government to keep marijuana classified as a dangerous drug with no medical value. The appeal to the DC Circuit comes just two weeks after the DEA denied a 2002 petition to reschedule marijuana filed by a coalition of patients and advocacy groups. ASA will argue in a forthcoming appeal brief that the federal government erred by keeping cannabis out of reach for millions of patients throughout the US.

Entertainment Weekly's Inside TV blog reports July 20 that the Discovery Channel has announced a "docu-soap reality show" entitled Weed Wars, set in Oakland's Harborside Health Center, the USA's largest medicinal cannabis distributorship. Set to air this fall, Weed Wars will follow the day-to-day dealings of Steve DeAngelo, owner of the establishment, which serves some 80,000 clients. 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie held a press conference July 19 to announce his plans to "begin work immediately" on his state's pending medical marijuana program. "We're moving forward with the program as it was set up," said Christie, with the expectation that licensed Alternative Treatment Centers could be up and operating as early as the end of 2011. Christie said he believed "the need to provide compassionate pain relief to these citizens of our state outweighs the risk we are taking in moving forward with the program." Christie's announcement comes in spite of threats from US Attorneys on the issue and a June 29 memorandum from Deputy Attorney General James Cole.

The East Bay Express' Legalization Nation blog reports July 13 that organizers expect up to 30,000 to pack Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall on Sept 3-4 for the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo 2011—dubbed "Mardi Grass" by blogger David Downs. Tickets for the event just went on sale for $18, marking the first time Oakland has turned over public space for a a paid cannabis-oriented event. Plans call for three entertainment stages, some 400 industry vendors, dozens of food trucks, guest celebrities, and heavy hitters from the movement. The expo will also feature an open-air "215" area for medical cannabis patients.

We have noted before that the cannabis industry has a huge carbon footprint—something of a dirty little secret for the legalization movement. David Downs in the July 13 issue of East Bay Express has a fascinating cover-story, "How Green Is Your Pot?" Traveling to backwoods Humboldt County, Downs finds: "A new collective is trying to sell sustainable, organically grown marijuana, but patients are hooked on indoor weed that wastes energy and pollutes the planet."

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports that as of July 8, at least 6,600 prisoners in at least 11 of the state’s 33 prisons have joined the hunger strike initiated by some 400 inmates at the Pelican Bay facility on July 1. With large numbers of inmates striking at Corcoran, Folsom, Tehachapi, Centinela, Calpatria and San Quentin state prisons, advocates and lawyers working to support the strike claim the number is much higher, and are pressing the CDCR to enter into negotiations with prisoners at Pelican Bay and immediately implement their demands.

Some "gun trafficking 'higher-ups'" who supply weapons to Mexican drug cartels may have been "paid as informants" by US government agencies, according to a letter two ranking US Congress members sent US attorney general Eric Holder on July 5. "The evidence we have gathered," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) wrote, "raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department"—which Holder heads—"not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities." The "other agencies" may include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the letter said.