Global Ganja Report

A North San Diego County medical marijuana provider, James Stacy, whose Vista dispensary was raided on Sept. 9 by a multi-agency narcotics task force, will be the first such case to go to trial since the Justice Department issued its new enforcement policy in October. Stacy's trial date is to be scheduled this week at a hearing where Stacy said he will argue that under the new policy he's entitled to admit evidence of compliance with state law—something routinely denied federal defendants.

The Andean nation's indigenous people have long resented the U.S. beverage company for usurping the name of their sacred coca leaf. Now, they are aiming to take back their heritage. Recently, the government of Evo Morales announced that it would support a plan to produce a coca-based soft drink which would rival its fizzy American counterpart.

National Public Radio on May 18 adds to the widespread speculation that the Mexican government is tilting to the Sinaloa Cartel in the country's increasingly violent narco wars. Reporting from Ciudad Juárez, where President Felipe Calderón has deployed 10,000 army troops and federal police, NPR "finds strong evidence that Mexico's drug fight is rigged," citing court testimony, current and former law enforcement officials, and an analysis of cartel arrests.

The Jamaican government has agreed extradite to the US the accused leader of the notorious Shower Posse drug gang, Christopher "Dudus" Coke. Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s controversial decision reverses months of opposition to his extradition. Coke will be sent to New York to face drug and gun trafficking charges.

Four California medical marijuana users who argue that bans on Orange County pot clinics violate the Americans with Disabilities Act appealed their case to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Matthew Pappas, attorney for the users, said he will argue the case based on an interpretation of the equal protection clause in the 5th Amendment, and pointed to a 2009 congressional decision based on the clause that lifted a ban on medical marijuana in Washington DC.

A crowd of over 150 assembled May 14 at the Little Lake Grange in Willits, Calif., for the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board's community forum. The event, entitled, "Medical Cannabis: State of Our Laws, Now and in the Future" featured County Supervisor John Pinches and Sheriff Tom Allman, as well as physicians, attorneys and activists. MMMAB advisory panel member Pebbles Trippet responded to audience questions fielded by supervisorial candidate and moderator Dan Hamburg. Following the forum, the three candidates for District Attorney answered questions.

A new marijuana policy could make it legal for individuals to posses up to 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of cannabis in the German capital, making Berlin among the most cannabis-friendly in Europe.

A "mysterious" fungus that has damaged opium poppy crops in Afghanistan is sparking fears of US biological warfare. Helmand farmers interviewed by BBC Pashto service were convinced that "they" had deliberately destroyed the crops—the pronoun "they" being a euphemism for US secret agents, believed by the farmers to have sprayed the crops with the fungus. The UN drug control office in Afghanistan is conducting an investigation into the outbreak.