Global Ganja Report

During last year's Prop 19 fight in California, we noted the strange phenomenon of "Stoners Against Legalization"—tokers who opposed the legalization measure, sometimes spouting bizarre conspiracy theories that the ballot initiative was all a plot by Monsanto and other big corporations to corner the cannabis market and squeeze out independent growers with bio-engineered patented varieties. We noted that even if Prop 19 passed, "cannabis will remain illegal at the federal level, allowing Monsanto to be shut down if they dabble in the Evil Weed." But now it emerges that—surprise, surprise!—the feds have actually been giving multi-national corporations the legal right to grow cannabis that us commoners are denied.

A court in Kuching, Malaysian Borneo, sentenced a 23-year-old postman to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the rattan cane on May 31 for cultivation of cannabis in his house. Zubairi Ismail was also guilty of possessing 2.17 grams cannabis, for which he was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbong ordered the jail sentenced to run consecutively. Ismail was given the maximum penalty for the first offense possible under Malaysia's Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952. Zubairi appeared calm but his mother wept when the judgement was delivered. (Borneo Post, May 31)

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy finds that the "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world," and calls upon governments to explore the legalization of cannabis and other controlled substances. "Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately, that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem and that the war on drugs has not and cannot be won," the report states.

The Dutch government on May 27 said it will start barring tourists from buying cannabis at coffee shops by the end of the year. Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to restrict "drug tourism" as part of a nationwide "anti-crime" program. Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops. "In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament. (Reuters, May 27)

Three medical marijuana bills were introduced in Congress May 25 with support from patient advocates. The most significant of the three bills is one introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), which would reclassify marijuana from its current status as a dangerous drug with no medical value. Another bill, introduced by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), will allow banks and other financial institutions to provide services to medical marijuana businesses without being subject to "suspicious activity" reporting requirements. The third bill, introduced by Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), changes the federal tax code "to allow a deduction for expenses in connection with the trade or business of selling marijuana intended for patients for medical purposes pursuant to State law."

A coalition of advocacy groups and patients filed suit in the DC Circuit Court on May 23 to compel the Obama administration to answer a nine-year-old petition to reclassify medical marijuana. The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) has never received an answer to its 2002 petition, despite a formal recommendation in 2006 from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the final arbiter in the rescheduling process.

Former state troopers in the Oregon legislature have revived a bill that would make it harder for people to qualify for a medical marijuana card and tighten controls on the those growing it. The Omnibus Cannabis bill, or House Bill 3664, got a hearing last week in the House Rules Committee at Salem. Under the bill, cannabis caregivers must be over 21 years of age, and must submit to a national background check each time they re-apply for a permit.

The US Supreme Court ruled on May 23 to uphold an order requiring California to release up to 46,000 prisoners to remedy overcrowding in the state's prisons. The ruling in Brown v. Plata calls on California to reduce its prison population from more than 200% of design capacity to 137.5% of capacity within two years. The 5-4 decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy finds that the extreme overcrowding of the California prison system is causing inmates to receive inadequate medical care in violation of the Eighth Amendment.