Sweden Authorities Seize 1.4 Tons of Cocaine, ‘One of the Biggest’ Seizures Ever

According to a Swedish customs official, authorities confiscated approximately 1.4 tons of cocaine last week in a port near Stockholm, as reported by Associated Press.

While the precise figure is still pending, Swedish customs official Stefan Granath told broadcaster SVT, “If it’s as big as we think, it is one of the biggest seizures ever made.” Authorities discovered the cocaine in a container in the Nynashamn port south of Stockholm on April 18, according to Granath.

Six men have also been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the drug’s transport.

The Latest of Many Record Drug Seizures in Europe

Granath noted the size of the seizure, saying that only five to 10 years ago it was “very unusual” to seize only 100 kilograms, or 220.5 pounds. 

To put it in perspective, 1.4 tons is equivalent to 2,800 pounds. That’s more than the volume of total cocaine seized by Sweden in 2022, and the country’s previous cocaine seizure peak — 822 kilograms or 1,812 pounds. The prior record was set in 2018, with 300 kilograms or 661 pounds of seized cocaine.

Granath also added that it’s likely that the cocaine was meant for the European market and that Sweden was only a point of transit.

It’s historic for Sweden, but it also acts as one of the more significant drug seizures for Europe as a whole. 

Earlier this year, Portuguese authorities discovered 1.3 tons of cocaine within shipments of frozen fish, similarly expected for distribution across Europe and unloaded at the Lisbon port. Authorities noted that the way the drug was hidden made it extremely difficult to detect and that the frozen fish had to be completely destroyed in order to remove the cocaine.

In 2023, Netherlands customs agents seized a whopping 17,600 pounds of cocaine hidden inside crates of bananas in what was the largest haul ever collected in Rotterdam’s port, the largest port in Europe that had processed more than 220 million tons through its terminals in the first six months of 2023.

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The Shifting Culture in Sweden

According to Swedish radio, the recent figure and seizure is indicative of more efficient search methods and an increase in the flow of drugs as a whole. 

Demand for cocaine appears to be growing rapidly across the European Union, with governments blaming the drug trade for increased violent outbreaks in major port cities like Antwerp in Brussels, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Marseille in France. 

On top of some of the other recent busts, Antwerp customs reported that it had seized 116 tons of cocaine in its port throughout 2023, setting a record for the second year in a row according to an Associated Press report.

EU member countries stopped a total of 303 tons of cocaine in 2021, the most recent year for which figures are available. AP reports that 75% of that quantity was seized in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain.

Outlets have suggested that the European drug boom is impacting neighboring countries like Sweden. EL PAÍS notes that the Swedish government opted to put the army on the streets last September to combat a wave of murders linked to gang rivalries.

Sweden now has the second-highest gun crime death rate in Europe, with poverty and inequality as driving factors as well as arms and drug trafficking. It’s a stark shift over the past several years, as Sweden’s once peaceful image has been drastically altered by an increased onslaught of gang violence.

“What started out as gun violence between young gangs looking to defend their territory has turned into a vicious circle of firearms trafficking and gun violence,” said Nils Duquet, a firearms researcher based at Brussels’ Flemish Peace Institute. “Gangs have also matured and are no longer just the street criminals, but are often connected to higher-level criminals as well.”

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Gov. Kathy Hochul Honors New York’s 100th Adult-Use Retail Store Opening

In an announcement last week, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state of New York reached a significant milestone: the grand opening of the state’s 100th Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) brick-and-mortar store. 

Big Gas is located in the village of New Paltz, located near Poughkeepsie. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and a handful of state leaders joined Big Gas owners, Kareem Haynesworth and Zymia Lewis for the grand opening of the store for public sales. “Big Gas is proud to be the first licensed cannabis dispensary in the City of New Paltz,” Big Gas Owners Zymia Lewis and Kareem Haynsworth said. “We are here with the support of the New York State Cannabis Investment Fund, who led us to this great location. This is beyond our wildest dreams.”

“We are pleased to be a host community in NYS’s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary program,” said Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Roger. “This initiative has allowed the state to 1) invest in a private fund to support individuals impacted by the inequitable enforcement of cannabis law and 2) protect public safety with NYS-sourced, regulated, and tested cannabis.”

Hochul applauded this historic milestone for New York’s cannabis industry.

“New York State continues to make progress on standing up a safe and legal cannabis industry for business owners, farmers and residents across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “Today marks a historic milestone in establishing a thriving and equitable industry in our state with the 100th brick-and-mortar store opening.”

New York officials licensed 110 adult-use cannabis retailers including storefronts and temporary delivery-only (TDO) locations across the state, with more anticipated to open soon. It’s a mix of CAURD licensees with storefronts, CAURD licensees providing delivery services, and adult-use dispensaries co-located with existing medical dispensaries. 

New York industry is taking off, reflected by the rapidly growing number of retailers and sales, with total sales exceeding $237 million, $77 million of which was generated in the first two and a half months of 2024. It’s all the signs of a thriving market. The rollout of New York’s cannabis program, however, was hammered by delays caused by lawsuits and the prevalence of illegal cannabis retailers. One such delay was a lawsuit led by Leafly that challenged New York’s ban on third party advertisers for cannabis businesses.

New York places emphasis on social equity measures to ensure that the state’s industry includes communities impacted the most by the criminalization of cannabis.

Despite setbacks, state leaders have been optimistic. Within its first year of operation, New York achieved and surpassed the Social and Economic Equity (SEE) goal laid out in the adult-use law with 60% of licenses given to social and economic equity applicants. Forty percent of social equity licenses are minority-owned businesses and 40% are women-owned businesses, respectively.

The governor’s announcement stated that this also almost doubled the percentage of majority minority-owned cannabis retailers nationwide. As of April 2024, 37% of New York’s adult-use retailers are majority minority-owned as only 19% are majority minority-owned nationwide. 

In addition, 11% of New York’s adult-use retailers were majority Black-owned, while nationally, that number is at just 2%. Approximately 50% of New York’s open dispensaries are minority- and/or women-owned businesses.

Office of Cannabis Management Executive Director Chris Alexander said, “We are incredibly proud of our licensees across New York State who have worked diligently to cross this threshold. Today’s celebration at Big Gas belongs not only to the team who opened their doors to business to eager customers today, but to every single licensee who is building this market from seed to sale. It echoes our commitment to catalyzing growth, fostering diversity, and championing equity within the cannabis sector. This milestone embodies our tireless endeavors to reshape the industry landscape and underscores our resolve to push the boundaries of progress. Supported by the New York Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund, we take pride in our progress and pledge to persist in our pursuit of inclusivity and advancement of New York’s Cannabis Market.”

“We take great pride in being able to support individuals who have been affected by unjust enforcement of cannabis laws and help them thrive in this emerging industry,” said Social Equity Impact Ventures LLC General Principal of the Fund’s General Partner Lavetta Willis. “Access levels the playing field. We are thrilled for Zymia Lewis and Kareem Haynesworth and wish them great success. We express our heartfelt gratitude to Governor Hochul for leading the way and paving the path to a socially equitable sector that promotes inclusivity and equal opportunities for all.”

Hundreds more retail operations dot the state as licensed businesses compete with the black market.

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D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Discusses Relative Using Medical Cannabis for Cancer

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education, aka D.A.R.E., has been teaching kids about substance abuse since 1983 with a mission of delivering science and evidence-based curricula. Recently, a D.A.R.E. documentary published by Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan on April 12 spoke with numerous individuals regarding the D.A.R.E. program and discussed the failure of the War on Drugs. Callaghan attended D.A.R.E.’s annual conference, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada last July. An estimated 500 attendees were present for D.A.R.E. officer training.

Part of the conference included presenting awards for 2023 D.A.R.E. Student of the Year and 2023 D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Mark Gilmore, from Kosciusko, Mississippi. Gilmore commented on his ability as a D.A.R.E. officer to apprehend any students who possess any amount of drugs, which includes even the smallest amount of weed.

D.A.R.E.’s 2022 Officer of the Year, Alex Mendoza of the Irvine Police Department spoke with Callaghan about shifting D.A.R.E.’s approach to drug prevention deterring kids from using drugs. “For me, it’s really about educating the youth that are out there,” Mendoza said. “To give them the tools necessary to navigate whatever pain that they’re going through. I think that if you don’t have that self-love for yourself and that resiliency, then you’re gonna go to that external source, whatever that might be.”

Callaghan asked, “Do you feel the same way about alcohol?” to which Mendoza replied, “Absolutely. I mean, alcohol is a gateway drug.” Callaghan then asked Mendoza if he drinks alcohol, and Mendoza confirmed that he does so rarely, or “maybe once or twice within a month period of time.” He gave an example, stating that he recently had an alcoholic drink at his daughter’s wedding during a toast.

Callaghan addressed this issue in the documentary, citing the validity of calling alcohol a gateway drug. He asked Mendoza if he felt cannabis could be treated in the same way as alcohol. “You know, there’s so many things about marijuana that go far beyond, I guess, really our understanding, right?” said Mendoza. “From a lot of the statistics that are out there, obviously, they say that it can be more dangerous than tobacco products.”

However, he did note that there are many instances where cannabis is being used to help patients to deal with the symptoms of their condition. “I think the problem that you run into is that you have the people that truly legitimately have a need and a purpose behind it and will use it to help them navigate their pain,” said Mendoza. “My brother-in-law recently passed away of cancer, and he didn’t want to go with any type of prescription medication. He wanted something natural and he resulted to using THC to deal with his pain. And it helped him. He passed away, but it helped him navigate that, right? And then you have, unfortunately, people that will use that as an excuse to try to use that product for recreational purposes.”

D.A.R.E. President and CEO Francisco Pegueros, who formerly worked for the Los Angeles Police department, concluded the conference with a speech. In a one-on-one interview, Callaghan mentioned that people being critical of the War on Drugs, Pegueros said “Well, there was some evidence that certain governmental agencies were involved in a lot of activity that were kind of contrary to the whole concept of the war on drugs,” Pegueros said. Callaghan called the “CIA giving crack to Freeway Ricky Ross,” or how the federal government was supplying Ross with cocaine for illegal sales. “It’s an unfortunate part of our history. But evidently, it’s reality,” Pegueros said.

The documentary also interviewed one individual named Hailey, who was the only protester outside of last year’s D.A.R.E. conference last year. “We don’t try to outlaw sex. We don’t try to outlaw driving. We don’t try to outlaw guns,” Hailey stated. “We don’t try to outlaw all these things that come with risk but can be easily have these safety measures put in place, much like we do with pharmaceuticals.”

Callaghan briefly spoke with Bill Russel, also known as RETRO BILL, who has spoken to kids across the country for more than 25 years in partnership with D.A.R.E. to warn kids about how drugs, including cannabis, are harmful and dangerous.

The documentary stated that the D.A.R.E. program cost American taxpayers up to $750 million per year in the 1990s, up until a 1998 University of Michigan study showed that drug use continued to rise between 1992-1995, despite the nationwide prevalence of D.A.R.E.

It also reviewed the rise of the War on Drugs through actions from former presidents Richard Nixon and later, Ronald Reagan. Former President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1994, and D.A.R.E. lost its federal funding in 1998.

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Cresco Labs Workers Reportedly De-Unionize

Employees at one of the country’s largest cannabis companies have reportedly fled their union amid a dispute over wages and dues.

The outlet MJBizDaily reports that workers at one of Cresco Labs’ cannabis cultivation facilities in Massachusetts “voted to de-unionize earlier this month,” which it said was “believed to be the first instance in the U.S. of a regulated cannabis workplace exiting organized labor.”

The move comes after workers at the facility in Fall River, Massachusetts “had joined the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 328 in November 2020,” according to MJBizDaily.

“Their first contract was set to expire in June. But rather than negotiate a new deal, the workers elected to ditch the UFCW entirely, Cresco employee Wyatt Brissette told MJBizDaily,” the outlet reported on Tuesday. “Sore points among the formerly unionized workers included scheduled wage increases that didn’t keep up with inflation and ‘arguably worse benefits’ than what nonunion workers received, he said.”

“We felt as if (the union) didn’t match what we needed,” Brissette told the outlet. “We were pretty much paying them for nothing.”

Another outlet, The Dales Report, reported that the exit from the union was “driven by employee dissatisfaction with union dues.”

“The Cresco Labs union situation underscores a significant challenge in unionized sectors, especially in emerging industries like cannabis. Although it is widely believed that unionization protects workers’ rights and ensures fair treatment, the recent events at the company reveal a gap between union efforts and member expectations. This situation sheds light on the complexities of union dynamics in newer, rapidly changing markets,” the outlet said. 

“Cresco Labs’ employees’ decision to leave their union is not isolated but reflects broader sentiments about the effectiveness and utility of such organizations in certain sectors. As the company continues to grow, the impact of this union departure could influence union strategies and employee relations in similar companies. The Cresco Labs issue may lead to a reassessment of union strategies across the industry. Unions might need to adapt more flexibly to the unique challenges and expectations of workers in non-traditional fields like cannabis cultivation. For Cresco Labs, this change could also prompt updates in their human resource policies and employee engagement strategies to more directly address worker concerns without employee mediation.”

According to the company’s official website, Cresco Labs is “one of the largest publicly traded, vertically integrated, multistate cannabis companies in the U.S.” Its stock was trading at below $2 a share on Wednesday, although it is up more than 46 percent year-to-date.

Last year, Cresco Labs called off a planned $2 billion merger with Columbia Care, a deal that would have created the largest cannabis company in the United States.

“In light of the evolving landscape in the cannabis industry, we believe the decision to terminate the planned transaction is in the long-term interest of Cresco Labs and our shareholders. We want to express our sincere gratitude to Columbia Care for their valuable collaboration and dedication during this transaction,” Charles Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs, in a statement at the time.

“Moving forward, we remain committed to our Year of the Core strategy, which involves the swift restructuring of low-margin operations, improving competitiveness and driving efficiencies in markets where we maintain leading market share, and scaling operations to prepare for growth catalysts in emerging markets. A strong core will enable us to take advantage of the margin accretive, growth opportunities we foresee within this tough economic time for the cannabis industry. While this is not the outcome we originally hoped for, we are confident Cresco Labs is in a stronger position moving forward.”

Nicholas Vita, CEO and co-founder of Columbia Care, said that, “after careful consideration,” his company was “confident in the mutual decision to move forward as separate, standalone companies.” 

“This is the best path forward for Columbia Care’s employees, customers, and shareholders. We are thankful for the collaboration and partnership with the Cresco team throughout this extensive process,” said Vita. “Over the last 16 months we have reviewed every aspect of our business, remained decisive and have made substantive changes that significantly improved our operations — positioning us with significant strategic and operational strength at this inflection point in the company’s history. We are looking forward to realizing the benefits of these changes as well as focusing on the opportunities in our outstanding footprint in markets with embedded upside; diversified portfolio of brands; our award-winning national retail brand, The Cannabist; recently implemented operational and organizational efficiencies; proactive balance sheet management activities; and meaningful equity capital markets initiatives that will propel Columbia Care into one of the most profitable and resilient companies in the industry over the next several years.”

The companies also used the announcement to provide an “additional update”: “the definitive agreements dated November 4, 2022, to divest certain New York, Illinois and Massachusetts assets of Cresco and Columbia Care to an entity owned and controlled by Sean “Diddy” Combs have also been terminated, effective July 28, 2023.”

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Congressional Progressive Caucus Says Dems Can Legalize MJ By Winning House, Senate Majorities This November

It’s a given that Election Season comes with a slew of messages from all sides, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is throwing its hat in the ring with a new legislative agenda, “a vision for Congress to meet everyday Americans’ urgent needs and rebuild the American dream for the poor, working, and middle class,” according to a recent news release from the group.

Specifically, the agenda includes a number of priorities like cannabis legalization and expungements that the caucus argues Democrats “can pass with congressional majorities” should they keep the Senate and take control of the House this November, as first reported by Marijuana Moment.

A Renewed Push for the Progressive Agenda 

The agenda comes as progressive voters have increasingly expressed doubt in the two-party system ahead of the November elections, specifically the ability for the Democratic Party to align with and enact certain aims of progressive voters.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the CPC, assured progressives that they have been part of the “most significant Democratic legislative accomplishments in the country” while recognizing that there is still ample work to be done.

“That’s why the Progressive Caucus has identified these popular, populist, and possible solutions,” Jayapal said. “With the Progressive Proposition Agenda, Democrats in Congress can meet the urgent needs people are facing, rewrite the rules to ensure majorities of this country are no longer barred from the American promise of equality, justice, and economic opportunity, and motivate people with a vision of progressive governance under Democratic majorities in the House and Senate and a Democratic White House.”

The document presents a comprehensive legislative agenda surrounding policies meant to uplift poor and working class people. In addition to cannabis-related issues, the agenda looks at raising wages and lowering costs; correcting inequality in the economic, educational and political systems; continuing to push for progressive climate crisis policy and protecting and expanding the rights and freedoms of Americans.

Official Progressive, GOP Stances on Cannabis Reform in 2024

The document breaks down policies into a number of focus areas, including legislative policy proposals that Democrats could pass with congressional majorities that the CPC says “will deliver immediate, tangible results for everyday Americans as well as rebuild systems that have held communities back for too long.”

Under the “Advance Justice” section, the CPC lists a number of focus areas such as strengthening reproductive rights and LGBTQI equality, comprehensive policing reform, obtaining citizenship and fair systems for immigrants, ensuring respect for tribal obligations, abolishing the death penalty and addressing the legacy of slavery.

It also lists marijuana legalization, with the aim, “Legalize cannabis, expunge records, and provide restorative justice for people with marijuana-related convictions.” Specifically, the CPC cites reducing criminalization and incarcerations “through sentencing reform, legalizing cannabis, expunging records, providing restorative justice, and an accelerated and reformed clemency process for people with marijuana-related convictions.”

A separate Executive Action Agenda from the CPC last year urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the review of cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance, publicly document the progress and timeline for rescheduling/de-scheduling and expedite DOJ guidance to reinstate protection against federal prosecution and interference among state- and tribal-legal cannabis programs.

In contrast, the Republican Policy Committee recently shared its agenda in a memo claiming an anti-cannabis reform position, calling cannabis a “gateway drug” causing “violence, depression and suicide.”

“Marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no mechanism to control rouge producers from increasing potency and causing more harm,” the new GOP policy guide reads. “Rather than labeling marijuana as a recreational drug, it should be labeled for what it is—a gateway drug that increases schizophrenia and impairs cognitive ability.”

It also included two policy recommendations urging members to oppose the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking and the Cannabis Users’ Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act, despite both measures boasting bipartisan support.

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