Global Ganja Report

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."

According to figures released by the Mexican government March 28, drug-related violence claimed 12,903 lives in the country in 2011—down from the record-breaking 15,273 claimed for 2010. In releasing the figures, the administration of President Felipe Calderón attempted to down-play them, asserting that drug-related violence throughout the hemisphere last year claimed 150,000 lives.

Lawmakers in Colombia have proposed decriminalizing cultivation of the coca leaf and cannabis to undercut the narco mafias. Proponents say the move would reduce prices and give peasants more incentive to grow other crops. The bill will be debated in the coming days by the lower house of Colombia's congress, the Chamber of Representatives. But Colombia's Justice Ministry says the move would violate Colombia's commitments to international narcotics treaties. "We have to be particularly prudent and particularly cautious," said Justice Minister Juan Carlos Esguerra.

Colorado's top federal prosecutor ordered 25 medical marijuana dispensaries located near schools to close in a new series of letters issued March 23. US Attorney John Walsh warned owners of the establishments that they have 45 days to shut down or "action will be taken to seize and forfeit their property," his office said in a press statement. Walsh's office said the letters were sent to dispensaries that violate a state law requiring cannabis dispensaries be at least 1,000 feet from a school. He sent a similar ultimatum to 23 cannabis dispensaries that violated the buffer law in January. He said no enforcement measure was taken because those locations all ceased cannabis sales.

Five bills have been introduced this year in Sacramento concerning cannabis and medical marijuana, winning varying degrees of support from activists and the cannabis industry. Most likely to pass is San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano's Assembly Bill 2312, which would regulate medical marijuana at the state level instead of letting each city and county take differing approaches to interpreting the law. AB 2312 would create a Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement within the state Department of Consumer Affairs to approve or deny permits for growing, processing, testing, transporting, distributing and selling medical cannabis.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 has decided to take Los Angeles area cannabis dispensary workers under its wing. The union announced March 22 that "health care and grocery workers will welcome the medical cannabis workers and their successful organizing campaign into their union." Said Local 770 president Rick Icaza: "This is the next step in professionalizing and stabilizing this new sector of the health care industry. Unionization and collective bargaining bring better training, less turnover, and more stability to the health care industry. This is a positive step towards successfully integrating compassionate care into our system of health care." (LA Weekly, March 21)

Two men dressed as ninjas who allegedly robbed a medical marijuana deliveryman in West Covina, Los Angeles county, remained at large, police said March 27. The two suspects allegedly wielded batons at a man delivering medicinal cannabis to a local home. The victim told police the robbers—dressed in black with masks over their faces—frightened him into dropping a bag containing an unspecified amount of cannabis and money. The suspects took the bag and fled. "It just sounds so unique and bizarre," Lt. Alan Henley told the Los Angeles Times. "We haven't had any similar incidents." (LAT, March 27) Actually, there has been a spate of similar incidents in Santa Cruz, Humboldt and elsewhere in California recently.

A Shasta County Superior Court judge on March 15 denied the town of Redding's request for a court order that would have closed down medical marijuana dispensaries across the city. Judge Stephen Baker's ruling relied heavily on the 4th District Court of Appeal decision in City of Lake Forest v. Evergreen, issued Feb. 29. The appellate court in the Lake Forest case ruled the city violated state law with its attempt to ban dispensing medical marijuana by declaring the dispensaries nuisances. The Orange County municipality tried to label its dispensaries nuisances solely because of their existence and not because of any illegal activity, the court ruled. (Record Searchlight, March 15)