Global Ganja Report

Global Ganja Report interviewed veteran criminal and civil rights attorney Tony Serra about Proposition 19 by telephone a few days ago. Currently Serra works out of the Pier 5 law firm in San Francisco and is defending accused members of the the Animal and Environmental Liberation Fronts against terrorism charges. He spends most days in court defending drug dealers, murderers and activists and holds the record for the longest closing argument in California history.

The medical marijuana patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) stepped up its campaign this week to oppose Steve Cooley in his bid for California attorney general. Hoping to convince Californians against voting for Cooley, ASA has launched the website www.NotCooley.com to highlight the ways in which Cooley would be bad—not only for patients and their providers but also for those who are concerned about the environment, equal rights, and criminal justice issues.

Sports reporter Newy Scruggs of local NBC news in Dallas/Fort Worth is cheerfully aghast at San Francisco's AT&T Park to find that Giants fans in the bleachers are openly "smoking weed"! The intrepid Scruggs is so mock-scandalized that he feels obliged to repeat this observation several times. Thanks to Internet Today.

On Oct. 19, while en route to leading traditional ayahuasca ceremonies in Oregon, indigenous Colombian healer Juan Agreda Chindoy was arrested at Houston International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for possession of his traditional medicine. He is being charged as a federal criminal and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Will Proposition 19 really erode California's medical cannabis laws? On Saturday Oct. 30, Global Ganja Report will host a forum on Proposition 19 in Oakland, featuring leading California cannabis crusader Chris Conrad and his longtime activist wife Mikki Norris of West Coast Leaf, who will respond to the arguments of "Stoners Against Legalization."  Global Ganja Report editor Bill Weinberg will moderate.

The country's leading advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) issued voter guides Oct. 26, highlighting several important races in the upcoming elections, including ballot initiatives establishing two new statewide medical marijuana laws in Arizona and South Dakota, and an expansion of Oregon's law to include licensed cannabis dispensaries. At the local level, voters in California and Colorado will be deciding on dozens of local medical marijuana initiatives, including banning distribution and imposing new taxes on patients. The race for California attorney general, however, may represent the greatest threat to patients this November. ASA strongly opposes AG candidate Steve Cooley, Los Angeles District Attorney and a longtime adversary of the state's medical marijuana laws.

Billionaire financier George Soros has thrown his support behind California's Proposition 19 legalization measure with a $1 million donation just one week before the vote. The contribution is the single biggest donation from an individual other than Prop 19's main sponsor, Oakland medical cannabis entrepreneur Richard Lee.

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos warned Oct 25 that approval of California's Proposition 19 could force nations worldwide to rethink their anti-drug policies. He also said legalized cannabis in California would make the fight against drug cartels tougher throughout Latin America. "Tell me if there is a way to explain to a Colombian peasant that if he produces marijuana we are going to put him in jail and that the same product is legal [in California]," Santos said during a radio interview. "That's going to produce a comprehensive discussion on the approach we have taken on the fight against drug trafficking." (AHN, Oct. 25)