Global Ganja Report

The USA's premier cannabis education institution, Oakland's Oaksterdam University, boosted its legitimacy and ended a long-simmering internal issue May 27 with an announcement that the school is unionizing about 100 jobs. The Bay Area's UFCW Local 5 said that employees at Oaksterdam and five related enterprises have voted to join them, and separate elections are also being verified at cannabis hydroponics retailer iGrow and cultivation company AgraMed.

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.

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.

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.

Fifteen Members of Congress sent a letter May 21 to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to issue "written guidance for financial institutions," that would commit the Department to not targeting institutions whose account holders are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

Wondering what to do with all those extra seeds laying around? Plant them in the wild!  Johnny Pot Seed, a newly established organization for the legalization of cannabis, is heading around the country attending festivals, fairs, and concerts to provide peatpods and instructions for people who want to put their extra seeds to use by planting them alongside highways and country roads. 

Local law enforcement, following a year-long investigation dubbed "Operation Chicago Haze," arrested a dozen people alleged to be members of one of the region's largest marijuana dealing rings on May 21. The suspects were charged with crimes including cannabis trafficking, delivery of cannabis, and money laundering.