The Louisiana legislature sees a marijuana legalization bill for the third year in a row, coca production is expanding in Guatemala but without signs of cocaine production, and more.

Seven cops were ambushed and killed in the heartland of Peruvian cocaine production. (Pixabay)

California Bill Would Allow Cannabis Cafes That Sell Fresh Food. Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) has filed a bill that would allow licensed marijuana retailers to also sell non-intoxicating foods and beverages. The measure, Assembly Bill 374, would  amend state law to allow such sales, as well as allowing shops to put on live musical performances and sell tickets to them. "Many people want to consume cannabis socially while having a sandwich or listening to music," Haney said. "We should allow that." Current state law allows marijuana consumption lounges, but they are not allowed to sell freshly prepared food—only prepackaged food and beverages.

Louisiana Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed. For the third year in a row, a marijuana legalization bill has been filed in the state legislatures. House Bill 17, sponsored by Rep. Candace Newell (D), would create a taxed and regulated marijuana industry in the state. Under the bill, 10 licenses would be issued for cultivation, processing, and manufacture of marijuana and 40 for retailers. A separate bill from Newell, House Bill 24, would decriminalize possession and distribution of marijuana upon legislative enactment of a regulatory system and the establishment of a tax on recreational sales. "I separated it because I know what state I live in," Newell said. "It’s been a challenge."

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Guatemala Coca Production Expands, But No Sign of Cocaine Production. The planting of coca leaf appears to be on the rise in the Central American nation, with authorities reporting the destruction of more than 4 million coca plants last year, more than double the 1.7 million eradicated in 2021, and another 1.2 million already this year. Authorities also dismantled five labs for producing coca base, the first stage of cocaine production, but no labs capable of producing cocaine hydrochloride, or powder cocaine. While the number of plants eradicated appears large, it is a tiny fraction of the number of plants grown in major coca producing countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. All the plants eradicated in Guatemala last year amount to about 70 acres, while the amount of coca eradicated in Colombia alone amounted to about 175,000 acres.

Peru Police Ambushed in Cocaine Hotspot, Seven Officers Dead. Seven police officers were shot and killed in an ambush attack in the town of Natividad, deep in the remote Andean region known as the VRAEM (the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers), the center of coca and cocaine production in the country. The VRAEM accounts for 75 percent of Peruvian cocaine. While police did not point a finger at any one group for the attack, the region has a strong presence of drug trafficking groups who are allied with remnants of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla army whose rebellion in the 1980s left nearly a hundred thousand dead across the country.