Global Ganja Report

The New York Times in a front-page story May 26 said that President Barack Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and seek increased spending on enforcement there to combat drug smuggling. The decision was disclosed after Obama met the previous day with Republican senators.

Residents of the besieged Kingston neighborhood of Tivoli Gardens accuse army troops of shooting indiscriminately and burning victims' bodies in their search for wanted drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Army commanders say the slain men were defending  barricades erected to prevent police from executing the arrest warrant. But residents say many of the victims were innocent bystanders.

Colombian beauty queen Angie Sanclemente Valencia, 31, was arrested in Argentina May 26 on charges of leading a drug trafficking ring. Argentine police had been looking for her for more than five months before they tracked her down in a youth hostel in Buenos Aires. She is accused of persuading young women to smuggle cocaine from Argentina to Europe via Mexico. She denies the charges.

A Montana lawmaker is calling for a bill to overturn the state's 2004 medical marijuana initiative in the next legislative session. State Sen. Jim Shockley (R-Victor), said that the law is flawed because it provides no control over dosage, distribution, or growing.

Gun battles raging in the Jamaican capital have left more than 60 people dead, hospital sources said May 25, as troops fanned out across the city hunting for accused drug kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Police put the death toll at 27, but Prime Minister Bruce Golding admits the actual figure may be much higher.

Vancouver's "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery, extradited from his native Canada, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Seattle on May 24 to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. As part of a plea bargain, Emery, 52, must serve five years in prison for selling seeds to US customers through his business, Marc Emery Direct. He will remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac until sentencing.

Police in the Humboldt County town of Arcata are warning LSD users to beware after responding to a rash of incidents apparently connected to bad acid trips. Police said the problems began last month when officers responded to a home where paramedics found a 31-year-old man who had castrated himself.

Running battles between police and gunmen of the Shower Posse gang turned part of Jamaica's capital Kingston into a warzone on May 24, with reports of explosions and civilian casualties. Two police were killed the previous day as police moved in to arrest accused kingpin Christopher "Dudus" Coke for extradition to the US. The confirmed death toll has now reached three, as a soldier was killed breaking through street barricades in the Tivoli Gardens neighborhood.