Global Ganja Report

California's referendum on legalizing cannabis is dividing Mexico's political establishment, The Guardian reports Oct. 24. President Felipe Calderón is leading critics of Proposition 19, who see it as a dangerous experiment that would undermine efforts against the cartels. He has repeatedly accused the US of hypocrisy in pressuring Latin America to confront the cartels, while doing little to rein in stateside consumption. The Guardian fails to note that Calderón himself signed a national decriminalization bill into law last year.

Medical marijuana patient advocates and other stakeholders staged a protest Oct. 14 as criminal proceedings began at the Terraine Courthouse in San Jose, Calif. The protest came in response to aggressive enforcement actions over the past two weeks by several police departments and the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. The sweep, which resulted in the arrest of nearly two dozen medical marijuana patients and providers in Santa Clara County on Oct. 1 and 7, was dubbed Operation "Up in Smoke."

US Attorney General Eric Holder stated Oct. 16 that the Department of Justice "strongly opposes Proposition 19," the pending cannabis legalization initiative in California. He wrote: "If passed, this legislation will greatly complicate federal drug enforcement efforts to the detriment of our citizens." He pledged to "vigorously enforce" the federal ban on possessing, growing or selling the drug if voters approve the ballot measure. Holder also indicated that the federal government might sue to overturn the measure if it is approved by voters on Nov. 2, writing that the DoJ "is considering all available legal and policy options."

In an exclusive interview with Global Ganja Report, leading California cannabis crusader Chris Conrad and his longtime activist wife Mikki Norris respond to the charges made by Dennis Peron and "Stoners Against Legalization" that Proposition 19 would create new felonies and overturn gains established by the state's medical marijuana statutes, Proposition 215 and SB 420. Conrad and Norris spoke with Global Ganja Report Sept. 16 at a Mexican restaurant in North Berkeley.

The Stop19.com website —self-dubbed "Cannabis Users Against Prop 19"—features the following interview with Dennis Peron, California's foremost pioneer of the medical cannabis movement, in which he propounds against Proposition 19, the state's pending legalization initiative.

Nine Santa Barbara area residents were arrested Oct. 13 for alleged involvement in a large-scale cannabis-trafficking organization. The arrests came at the conclusion of a year-long investigation, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Search warrants were served at seven locations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, turning up more than 900 indoor and outdoor cannabis plants, more than 300 pounds of processed cannabis, more than 50 pounds of hashish, and several million dollars in hash oil. Investigators also seized more than $125,000 in cash, a 2010 Porsche and nine motorcycles. Police said primary suspect Erik Bjorklund operated under the guise of growing medical marijuana. "This was just a straight-up drug-trafficking operation—purely to make money," said Drew Sugars of the Sheriff's Department. "Based on the numbers, it's certainly a significant operation." (Santa Maria Times, Oct. 13)

After six years of limiting medicinal cannabis dispensaries to four, Oakland city officials are poised to double that cap. Along with new legislation that would increase the number of licensed clubs to eight, the Oakland Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Oct. 12 to double the annual fees paid by the dispensaries from $30,000 to $60,000. The ordinance was introduced by councilmembers Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan. The full City Council will vote Oct. 19.

The RAND Corporation has released a new study entitled "Reducing Drug Trafficking Revenues and Violence in Mexico: Would Legalizing Marijuana in California Help?" The headline for the Oct. 12 press release reads: "Legalizing Marijuana in California Will Not Dramatically Reduce Mexican Drug Trafficking Revenues." It states: "The study calculates that Mexican drug trafficking organizations generate only $1 billion to $2 billion annually from exporting marijuana to the United States and selling it to wholesalers, far below existing estimates by the government and other groups." It says the study also refutes the often-cited claim that marijuana accounts for 60% of gross drug export revenues of Mexican drug trafficking organizations, and notes that Proposition 19 would affect only one state in any case. But Jon Walker of the pro-legalization blog Just Say Now actually read the text of the study itself, and found some contrary findings: