Marc Fogel received a 14-year sentence for “large-scale drugs smuggling” after he was found in possession of just half an ounce of cannabis in Russia in August 2021. While legislators have made many attempts to assist Fogel in returning to the U.S., there has been little traction in the effort.

Most recently, the U.S. Senate approved S.Con.Res.18 on June 4, which argues that Fogel was using medical cannabis legally in Pennsylvania for a variety of pain he suffers from. “Marc Fogel has undergone three back surgeries, a spinal fusion, a hip replacement, and two knee surgeries to correct various injuries and health issues, which have left him with chronic back pain and a permanent limp,” the resolution stated. It continued to explain that Fogel chose not to rely on opioids to treat his pain, and instead was prescribed medical cannabis.

Unfortunately, the “Government of the Russian Federation has presented no evidence to the contrary,” but still sentenced Fogel to serve a sentence of 14-years in a Russian penal colony. 

Sponsor Sen. Bob Casey, spoke on the Senate floor on June 5 after the resolution had already passed. That pain came from a hip replacement. It came from multiple back surgeries, multiple knee surgeries, and a spinal fusion, which has left Marc with a permanent limp,” said Casey. “Marc’s worsening medical conditions and actions to bring in less than an ounce of marijuana into Russia should not require him to serve the full 14-year sentence and a Russian penal colony—14 years imprisonment for less than an ounce of marijuana.”

Casey also addressed that a Russian lawyer told Fogel’s family that low-level cannabis possession usually led to five years probation, and previous offenders have received a lesser sentence when more cannabis was involved. “Marc Fogel’s sentence is vastly disproportionate to the severity of his nonviolent crime, wildly dissimilar to the typical punishments for comparable offenses in Russia, and clearly motivated by ongoing political tensions between Russia and the United States,” the resolution explained.

It concludes by calling on Russia to release Fogel, for the U.S. to “press for his immediate release,” condemns Russia for detaining a U.S. citizen, calls for the release of other prisoners also serving “wrongful and unlawful” Russian prison sentences (citing Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Ksenia Khavana, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza), and finally expressed “sympathy for and solidarity with” the families of those who have been detained and sentenced for various crimes.

S.Con.Res.18 was first introduced in June 2021, but the House bill H.Con.Res.60 has not yet been reviewed. “Marc Fogel has devoted his life to educating students around the world, from Pittsburgh to Oman to Venezuela to Moscow,” Casey said in a press release. “After nearly three years of captivity, Marc’s health is rapidly declining and his life is in danger. I urge President Biden and his administration to do everything possible to bring Marc home.”

The Senate resolution’s cosponsors include Sen. Steve Daines, Sen. John Fetterman, Sen. Jon Tester, Sen. Thomas Tillis, and Sen. Christopher Coons, each of which also presented a press statement about Fogel’s situation. “Marc Fogel’s imprisonment is unjust and unacceptable, and it has continued for far too long,” Tester said. “I’m glad to see our bipartisan resolution demanding his release pass the Senate, and I will continue pushing the Administration and using every tool at my disposal to secure his return and ensure this innocent American is finally reunited with his loved ones.”

Fetterman also explained the necessity of focusing on bringing Fogel home. “The passage of this resolution sends a very clear message: it’s time to bring Marc Fogel home,” Fetterman said. “Anyone who knows Marc—his family, friends, and students—will tell you about his infectious positivity and the countless lives he has changed in his 35 years of teaching. Marc and his family deserve to see each other again. We’ve seen the incredible work of the Biden Administration in bringing Brittney Griner and Trevor Reed home. Now let’s bring Marc home.”

Olympic athlete and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for having cannabis oil in her luggage in February 2022. By August, a Russian court determined her guilty of violating the country’s law on cannabis and was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony. Griner was eventually released in December 2022 in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Now Griner is working with ESPN and Disney to produce a documentary about her experience. 

Trevor Reed allegedly assaulted two Russian police officers in 2019, and was imprisoned in 2020 with a nine-year prison sentence. In April 2022, he was released in exchange for Russian pilot and drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko.

While Russia has sentenced many U.S. citizens to prison, the number of cannabis prisoners in the U.S. still remains a problem. Last October, the advocacy organization Last Prisoner Project highlighted the current status of cannabis prisoners in its “State of Cannabis Justice Report.” “As we mark the first anniversary of President Biden’s cannabis proclamation, Last Prisoner Project reaffirms its dedication to the pursuit of justice, equity, and compassion,” the announcement stated. “We remain committed to dismantling the harmful legacy of the War on Drugs and ensuring that those affected by cannabis prohibition are not forgotten.”

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has formally enacted legislation to legalize medical marijuana in a move that he and other leaders believe will assist soldiers in healing from both physical and psychological injuries suffered in the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia.

As of January 2, 2024, per Russia Matters, a project launched by Harvard University, Ukraine’s military has seen over 130,000 individuals killed, severely wounded, or missing. The number of civilian deaths totals 10,058. And this doesn’t count for the trauma endured. 

As many readers with trauma from other sources likely know, cannabis has demonstrated its therapeutic properties for folks experiencing PTSD. It can lower anxiety, improve sleep, decrease the frequency of PTSD nightmares, and also help with chronic pain management. Cannabis can also regulate mood and lift depression symptoms that frequently accompany traumatic experiences. There’s also research that cannabis also affects memory processing, which can ease the suffering surrounding recalling traumatic memories and flashbacks. 

In December, Ukrainian legislators initially passed the medical cannabis bill, but the Batkivshchyna party, in opposition, stalled its progress by insisting on a vote on a resolution to annul the measure. They apparently view the bill as a threat to the integrity of the country’s future. But in a win for survivors of the war, this resolution was defeated in January, effectively removing any obstacles to the bill’s enactment.

Critics attempted to thwart the legislation by submitting hundreds of amendments, which were called out as “spam” by detractors. However, this effort also proved unsuccessful. The bill passed with 248 votes in its favor.

Approximately one month after the legislative progress was freed up, on Wednesday, President Zelensky granted his final endorsement to the bill after the failed attempt to overturn the reform. The legislation is slated to become effective within six months from its official publication date. During this interim period, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, along with the Ministry of Health, is responsible for formulating the regulations for the program.

As Reuters notes, over 6 million people, including soldiers, civilians with PTSD, and healing soldiers, require cannabis. Although the initial version of the bill specifically mentions only cancer and PTSD resulting from the nation’s ongoing war with Russia, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis use, the chair of the health committee noted that legislators regularly receive feedback from patients suffering from other conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy, indicating a broader demand for access to medical cannabis.

Ukraine might begin the importation of marijuana products earlier than the aforementioned six months, following the reclassification of cannabis from being completely banned under List I to being permissible for medical purposes with a prescription under List II in the nation’s drug code.

Zelensky expressed his approval for the medical marijuana legalization back in June, telling parliament that, “all the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war.” He further noted the steps required to make this happen, stating: “In particular, we must finally fairly legalize cannabis-based medicines for all those who need them, with appropriate scientific research and controlled Ukrainian production.”

The bill outlines the requirement for specific licenses to grow and sell cannabis, including a mandate for round-the-clock video monitoring of production sites, which will be accessible to law enforcement. Oversight of cannabis cultivation and processing will fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Furthermore, the National Police and the State Agency on Medicines will have supervisory and enforcement powers concerning the distribution of the medicinal product.

In December, the Defense Department unveiled a security assistance package worth up to $250 million for Ukraine. This package includes anti tank weaponry, air defense systems, artillery, and additional equipment designed to support Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to fight back against the unprovoked aggression. And cannabis companies stepped up as well.

During the initial month of Russia’s invasion last year, several American cannabis firms offered financial aid to Ukraine. Misha Breyburg, CEO of MediThrive, contributed a portion of the proceeds from cannabis sales to a charity assisting Ukrainians. Additionally, Breyburg had the MediThrive dispensary located in San Francisco’s Mission District decorated in Ukraine’s national blue and yellow colors.

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After hitting a brief snag late last year, a bill approved by Ukraine’s unicameral legislature in December to legalize medical cannabis in the country appears to be back on track.

The delay occurred when the opposing Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and its leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, announced the party’s intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court to cancel the legislative vote, citing that “the amendments to the bill were considered in a half-empty chamber.”

Tymoshenko, who has been vocally opposed to the reform measure, also said that the bill would legalize “drug trafficking and the drug mafia” in Ukraine, while European Solidarity co-chair Irina Herashchenko argued that the bill’s text focused on industrial production and lacked clear rules around state regulation.

This week, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, unblocked the bill after the resolution failed, earning only 25 of the required 226 votes to repeal the parliament’s adoption of the law. The bill was then formally sent to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s desk on Wednesday, who has publicly voiced his support.

Overcoming the Efforts of Opposing Parties

According to a Ukrinform report, the announcement was first made on Tuesday by MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak from the Holos party on Telegram. Zhelezniak announced the status of the bill alongside a number of other recent legislative updates.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on Dec. 21, regarding regulation of “the circulation of cannabis plants for medical, industrial purposes, research, and scientific and technical activities to create conditions for expanding patient access to the necessary treatment of oncological diseases and post-traumatic stress disorders obtained due to war.”

The next day, the Batkivshchyna registered a draft resolution with the parliament to cancel the decision, though registering a draft resolution of that nature doesn’t allow the Verkhovna Rada chair and the president to sign the adopted legislative act. Rather, the document’s signing was able to be unblocked after the draft resolution was rejected.

Opponents previously tried to block the bill’s progress after introducing almost 900 amendments to the bill, dubbed “spam” amendments by critics, in November.

Ukraine’s Pending Medical Cannabis Legislation

The measure to legalize medicinal cannabis looks to license the economic activity for hemp cultivation for medical, industrial and scientific purposes. Additionally, the law aims to help Ukrainian war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with providing relief to those with cancer and other serious illnesses. The legislation only explicitly references that it will “create conditions for expanding the access of patients to the necessary treatment of oncological diseases and post-traumatic stress disorders obtained as a result of war,” with no mention of other qualifying conditions.

The bill would also move cannabis from strictly prohibited in the current List I to availability for medical use with prescription under List II of Ukraine’s drug code. 

According to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the distribution of cannabis for recreational use will still be a crime, and the production of cannabis medicines will be “strictly controlled” at all stages. Only those with an electronic medical cannabis prescription would be allowed to obtain cannabis-based medicines.

The measure received support from Ukraine’s Health Ministry, which called the move a “historic decision.”

“Thank you on behalf of the medical community for the decision made, because medical cannabis is a medicine for millions of people: cancer patients, people with multiple sclerosis, patients receiving palliative care, etc.,” the Health Ministry’s translated statement reads.

In June 2023, Zelenskyy emphasized the need for the reform specifically highlighting the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and, more broadly, those Ukrainians who may benefit from cannabis-based medicines.

“All the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “We must finally honestly legalize cannabis-based medicines, relevant scientific research, and controlled Ukrainian production for everyone who needs it.”

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On the anniversary of Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison, ESPN shared that Olympic athlete and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner will be working with both ESPN Films and Disney to produce a documentary about her story. Griner was detained in Russia in March 2022 for being in possession of cannabis vape cartridges, but after many months of suffering in prison, was eventually released by December 2022.

“The last two years have been the most harrowing, transformative and illuminating period of my life, and I am grateful to be in a place now to share my story with the world,” Griner said. “I’m proud to partner with ESPN and Disney to share this very personal story because of its incredible potential to inspire hope around the world and their proven ability to do just that.”

Griner’s ongoing imprisonment was constantly in the headlines, with frequent updates about her case, including incomplete translations by her Russian/English translator, pleading and being found guilty in court, and being sent to a penal colony in an unknown location. Support came from many sources, such as LeBron James, Dennis Rodman, and President Joe Biden, but few were as prominent as Brittney’s wife, Cherelle. “Throughout BG’s detainment and in the time since, ESPN, ABC and Disney were supportive and caring in regards to the human side of this saga,” Cherelle Griner said. “Love and family were at the center of the fight to get BG home, and with that in mind, there is no better, more trusted partner to tell that story with us.”

ESPN described the story as a scripted series that will be developed by ABC Signature, and will also include an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts of ABC News. Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, and Jon Leibman, Chairman and CEO of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, are executive producers on the project. In a press release, the project was also described as using “exclusive footage and rare archival material” to tell the story.

“Brittney is an exceptional athlete whose hardship and resilience are nothing short of extraordinary,” said Burke Magnus, president, Content, ESPN. “We are thrilled to be working with her to tell the nuances of her story and feel confident that this documentary will captivate audiences everywhere.”

“BG is a hero—across sport, culture, and humanity. We are privileged to serve as a part of her life’s storytelling journey, and to partner with her and Cherelle to bring Brittney’s legacy to audiences worldwide. Through Disney, ABC, and ESPN’s, global wide-ranging TV and film platform, Brittney’s story can be realized and experienced both creatively and realistically.”

“We are honored that Brittney has entrusted us to share her story of hope, faith and determination across our platforms,” said Debra O’Connell, president, Networks and Television Business Operations, Disney Entertainment. “Her unwavering perseverance that helped shape her as an athlete has now influenced her leadership as a human rights advocate.”

There’s no release date for the project at this time, or how prevalent the topic of cannabis will be approached, but she is expected to talk about “her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.”

Marc Fogel, now 62 years old, is another U.S. citizen currently detained in Russia for cannabis possession, having originally been arrested in August 2021. The most recent news reports of Fogel’s imprisonment are from this summer, where Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Jon Tester petitioned Biden for Fogel’s release. “One of the key differences between Brittney Griner and Mark Fogle’s cases is that less than three months after Griner’s arrest, the State Department classified her as wrongfully detained. Fogle deserves the same justice. And we should be using every tool at our disposal to bring him home,” Daines said, according to the Billings Gazette. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know some of Mark’s family, some of whom are Montanans. They have been fierce advocates here stateside. But they fear they will never see their brother’s face again, or hear their father’s voice, and we can’t let that happen.”

It’s incredibly important to emphasize that “wrongful detainees” exist both abroad but also here in our own country. There are numerous U.S. prisoners serving sentences for cannabis convictions, a fact that was recently covered by Last Prisoner Project in its State of Cannabis Justice Report. “Justice is not achieved through mere legalization alone but by undoing the harms caused by cannabis prohibition,” Last Prisoner Project announced in October. “Twenty-four states have enacted cannabis-specific record clearance laws, and ten states have enacted cannabis-specific resentencing laws. Our report allows the public to compare, contrast, and learn more about each state’s effort to ameliorate the consequences of cannabis conviction.”

The study covered a large amount of data about prohibition, and a breakdown of each U.S. state’s legalization policies, pardon policies, and an overall grade. Only two states, California and Minnesota, received an A grade, while New Mexico, Maryland, and New York, received a B+. The states that received an F grade included South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, and Wisconsin.

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Some routine repairs on the International Space Station unveiled something mysterious last week when a Russian astronaut found holes drilled into the side of the orbiting vessel.

According to a NASA press release, two Russian astronauts by the names of Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub were on a spacewalk on October 25, attempting to repair a radiator that was leaking coolant into the vacuum of space when they found an additional irregularity.

According to an article in Space, Kononenko was inspecting one of the outer panels of the leaky radiator when he noticed what appeared to be multiple holes drilled into the surface of the radiator panel. 

“The holes have very even edges, like they’ve been drilled through,” Kononenko said to the flight controllers working in Moscow Mission Control. “There are lots of them. They are spread in a chaotic manner.”

Neither NASA nor Roscosmos, which is essentially Russia’s post-Soviet-Union-Era version of NASA, had addressed the holes as of the time this article was written to offer speculation as to how the holes may have ended up there. The only information about the holes online is all sourced back to the same information in the Space article. This is not uncommon for space agencies, however, as NASA and Roscosmos both have long-standing reputations for being very selective with what they disclose publicly, without going too deep into conspiracy theories.

After locating and documenting the mysterious holes, the spacewalk took another unexpected turn when Kononenko and Chub encountered a large blob of coolant which had broken free from the leaky radiator, posing a contamination risk.

“During the spacewalk, Kononenko and Chub inspected and photographed an external backup radiator on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, as well as isolated the radiator from Nauka’s cooling system,” a NASA press release said. “During the radiator inspection, a bubble of coolant liberated at the leak site and the crew wiped down their suits prior to continuing the spacewalk.”

The radiator was originally reported leaking on October 9 and was a backup radiator for another which is used to regulate temperature inside the ISS. Coolant supply for the backup radiator was cut off shortly before repairs were made, which is believed to be what led to the coolant bubble forming. According to Space, the bubble reportedly came close enough to Kononenko that one of his tethers became contaminated and had to be bagged and left outside the ISS after the spacewalk. Tethers are cables used to keep the astronauts attached to the orbiting space vessel rather than hurtling off into space (and certain death).

The two Russian astronauts reportedly gave their spacesuits a thorough wipe-down before they returned to the ISS and ended their spacewalk. Contamination risk by unknown microorganisms poses a much bigger threat in the vacuum of space than it would on Earth, according to information published by NASA, the National Institute of Health, and many others. These risks necessitate astronauts to sterilize their tools and suits before re-entering the spacecraft. 

“At the end of the spacewalk, before reentering the Poisk airlock, the two spacewalking cosmonauts as usual inspected the Roscosmos Orlan spacesuits and the tools used during the spacewalk to look for signs of coolant and wipe off any coolant as necessary,” NASA said. “The cosmonauts also wiped down their suits and tools as usual after repressurization to further reduce introduction of trace contaminates into the space station environment. Additional filtration will then be used inside the space station in order to quickly scrub the atmosphere of any remaining traces of contaminant.”

This is not the first time Roscosmos has reported holes drilled into the ISS. A Russian news agency accused a NASA astronaut of drilling holes into the ISS in 2021 due to a failed romantic relationship with another astronaut, though this was never confirmed. Another report of small holes in the ISS came earlier this year. Another report of a coolant leak from last December was caused by small meteorites, according to the Russians. In fact, there are many stories online about small holes in the ISS that go back years, many of them having to do with Russia. That is not to say the information is untrue, just a small caveat to what appears to be an ongoing problem.

Kononenko and Chub reportedly ended their spacewalk after seven hours and 41 minutes without any further complications. The Oct. 25 spacewalk was reportedly the sixth such walk in Kononenko’s career, a first for Chub and the 268th in the history of the ISS. The next spacewalk for the ISS, undertaken by NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, was actually underway at the time this article was written. It began at 8:05 a.m. EDT Monday morning and was scheduled to last about six-and-a-half-hours.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin’s fiery death in a plane that went down was due to cocaine and grenades, not a coordinated assassination in retaliation for his uprising, as many suspect.

Prigozhin’s days were numbered the moment he led the Wagner Group—his paramilitary mercenary group—in a short but surprisingly robust uprising against Putin’s military last June. Prigozhin also openly criticized the Russian Defense Ministry, calling the invasion of the Ukraine as more or less a dumpster fire, and saying their reasons for the invasion were lies.

On Aug. 23, an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet crashed near Kuzhenkino in Tver Oblast, about 60 miles north of the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, where it departed. Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, and Valery Chekalov—three key figures of the Wagner Group—were aboard and killed. Just before flying, Prigozhin was reportedly oddly given permission to leave Russia for Belarus, but that could’ve been a trap. It’s widely believed to have been an assassination.

CBS News reports that “The Kremlin has dismissed suggestions that it orchestrated the crash in revenge for Wagner’s march on Moscow.”

Pressure was building for Putin to provide an explanation, and he did not disappoint. NBC News reports that in a speech on Oct. 5 at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, about six weeks after Prigozhin’s plane fell from the sky, Putin spun a “wild tale that drugs and grenades caused the fatal crash,” claiming the plane had 11 pounds of cocaine and grenade fragments. A simple drug test would have proven this, he suggested.

U.S. officials told NBC News that intelligence suggests sabotage is the leading theory for the crash.

“I know there must be a question hanging in the air as to what happened to the company’s top management,” Putin said. “The Investigative Committee head [Alexander Bastrykin] reported to me just the other day that hand grenade fragments had been found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash.”

“Unfortunately, tests on traces of alcohol or drugs in the blood of those killed were not taken, although we know that after the events we all know about [the uprising] the FSB [Russia’s intelligence agency] found not only 10 billion [rubles] in cash, but also 5 kilograms of cocaine in the Saint Petersburg office” of Prigozhin’s company, Putin said.

Putin denied that any missile or projectile was a factor in the crash.

“There was no external impact on the plane,” Putin said. “This is an established fact, a fact established by the examination that Russia’s Investigative Committee has conducted. The investigation still continues.”

U.S. intelligence agrees no missile was involved, but says Prigozhin’s plane crashed due to an explosive that was intentionally set off on board.

Putin Opponents Tend to Die Horrible Deaths

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian FSB (the new KGB) spy who defected to England, died in 2006 after drinking tea poisoned with a radioactive substance called polonium-210, “the most dangerous substance known to man.” It’s a rare radioactive isotope that caused him to die a slow painful death. And it’s only produced in Russia.

Litvinenko was loudly against Russian policies and spoke out about it often. Litvinenko said he himself was hired to assassinate Putin’s adversaries. On Nov. 23, 2006, Litvinenko succumbed to radioactive poisoning.

Litvinenko said he was poisoned by Putin despite living thousands of miles away. The Daily Beast reports that even the men who are believed to have allegedly delivered the poison are known. Like Litvinenko’s obvious assassination by poisoning, Prigozhin’s death is believed to be an act of retaliation.

A post on Telegram reads, “A short summary: the most combat-ready unit in the history of modern Russia was commanded by alcoholics and drug addicts who, being professional soldiers, did not know about the rules for handling hand grenades.

“However, the people of Russia will forever remember them differently.”

In 2018, Straight Cannabis and High Times reported that Tommy Chong said Donald Trump is “Putin’s Bitch.” This was a Twitter/X response to a tweet posted by Rep. Don Beyer.

Putin is not only losing the war in the Ukraine, but also the War on Drugs.

High Times reported that Russia has the highest number of heroin users per capita of anywhere in the world, according to a Brookings Institution review.  Over 2% of Russia’s entire population inject drugs. In 2020, a total of 18,013 people overdosed on illicit drugs and 7,366 died as a consequence, which is a 16% increase compared to 2019, a 2022 study found. Injection drug use also led to sky-high HIV rates in the country. 

The suspicious deaths of Putin’s enemies aren’t’ helping the country’s image.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on lawmakers to legalize medical cannabis, saying the treatment could provide relief to those in the country suffering from the “trauma of war.” 

Zelensky made the comments in an address before his country’s parliament. 

“We must finally fairly legalize cannabis-based medicines for all those who need them, with appropriate scientific research and controlled Ukrainian production,” Zelensky said, as quoted by UPI.

“All the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied to Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war,” he added, according to the news organization. 

Russia invaded and subsequently occupied parts of Ukraine last year, marking a bloody and costly escalation of the hostilities between the two countries. In April, Reuters, citing a “trove of purported U.S. intelligence documents” that had been published online, estimated that as many as “354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war.”

As UPI noted, “Zelensky’s support for medical cannabis legalization also remains consistent as evidenced in 2019, during his presidential campaign, when he said it would be ‘normal’ to allow people to access cannabis ‘droplets.’”

Zelensky’s comments on Wednesday also echo what his cabinet has said recently. 

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Health Minister Viktor Liashko said in a Facebook post that the government had put forward legislation to legalize medical cannabis treatment. In the post, Liashko invoked the ongoing war with Russia as a reason to make the treatment available.

“We understand the negative consequences of the war on the mental health camp,” Liashko wrote in the Facebook post. “We understand the number of people who will require medical treatment in the last breath.”

“Cannabis drugs are not ‘competitors’ to drugs, and measures to regulate their circulation are completely different. Medical cannabis contains cannabidiol, which has no pronounced psychoactive effect, so it’s not suitable for recreational use,“ Liashko continued. “To that, at the same time, we were prepared by the legislator for the preparation of a new cycle of production of preparations based on cannabis in Ukraine: from the development of that processing to full production.”

In the first month of Russia’s invasion last year, a number of cannabis companies in the United States stepped up to provide financial support to Ukraine. 

MediThrive CEO Misha Breyburg donated proceeds from weed sales to a charity providing aid to Ukrainians. Breyburg also had the MediThrive dispensary in San Francisco’s Mission District painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine hits home for the founders of MediThrive. CEO Misha Breyburg and his colleagues are Ukrainian Jewish refugees who immigrated from Odessa, Ukraine to the United States as children in the 1970s,” the company said in a statement at the time. “MediThrive believes that everyone should have access to medicine and quality health care. The Medi in our name tells of our humble beginning as a medical cannabis dispensary that filled the cannabis prescriptions of cancer and AIDS patients. In the 1990s, the dispensary opened its doors to patients under the United State’s Compassionate Care Act. We are the oldest cannabis dispensary and delivery service location in San Francisco. Today, we are more than just a medical and recreational cannabis provider; our roots run deep in our community.”

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An American musician and former paratrooper was arrested in Moscow, Russia on drug dealing charges as he was paraded on state T.V. in a cage—and people have questions. 

Reuters reports that musician and rock band manager Michael Travis Leake, 51, was arrested on June 6, and Russian authorities say he was selling drugs. Leake is suspected of selling mephedrone, a drug often described as having effects somewhere in-between cocaine and MDMA. Russia banned mephedrone in 2010. Suspicions abound however, because Leake has spoken out on television about censorship and oppression in Russia.

Rossiya 24—state-owned, Russian language news channel—showed him standing in a court cage. Russian tabloid network Ren TV showed Leake being detained on June 6 in Moscow, lying on the floor in his underwear and a T-shirt with his hands tied behind his back.

Leake is apparently denying any involvement: “I don’t understand why I’m here,” Leake’s statement to police read, Ren TV reports. I don’t admit guilt, I don’t believe I could have done what I’m accused of because I don’t know what I’m accused of.”

Russian authorities routinely accuse journalists of being spies. Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, for instance, who is a U.S. citizen, was arrested last March on “espionage” charges.

“On June 10, 2023, Moscow’s Khamovniki District Court took a measure of restraint against a U.S. citizen,” Moscow’s courts of general jurisdiction stated on Telegram. “The former paratrooper and a musician, who is accused of running a drug dealing business involving young people, will remain in custody until Aug. 6, 2023.” The Russian court statement misspelled his name “Travis Michael Leek.”

U.S. officials confirmed Leake’s detention Saturday.

“We can confirm that Michael Travis Leake was arrested and is detained in Moscow. Embassy officials attended his arraignment on June 10,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told CNN. “We will continue to monitor the case closely.”

Who is Michael Travis Leake?

For an episode of Parts Unknown on CNN, the late host (and cannabis fan) Anthony Bourdain personally hand-picked Leake to participate in the show. Leake and others filmed in 2014 in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia.

Leake discussed his frustrations with censorship in Russia and recalled an incident involving his band and MTV.

“This was a documentary series about musicians standing up and risking their lives in some cases, to stand up against government abuse of power, government corruption,” Leake said on Parts Unknown. “And yet, a foreign government was able to editorially control what Americans viewers see on their TV screens. That to me is a scandal of epic proportion.”

It was apparently one of Bourdain’s favorite interviews.

Leake will remain in custody until August 6. Leake’s mother Glenda Garcia told CNN about her mounting worries, including the notion that her son could be used as more or less a political pawn.

Leake was formerly a songwriter and musician in the Russia-based rock band Lovi Noch, which means “Catch the Night” in Russian.

Tendency to Arrest Americans in Russia

Amid the war in the Ukraine, U.S.-Russia tensions are high, which isn’t good for Americans who bring drugs into the country.

Last December, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was released after President Biden and authorities negotiated a prisoner swap. Griner faced nine years in a penal colony for possessing vape cartridges containing weed oil. 

In a controversial move, the U.S. agreed to trade Griner for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

But U.S. authorities accused Russia of using people like Griner and others as political pawns.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after being convicted of “espionage” charges.

Also don’t forget the Americans who aren’t well-known. Sixty-one-year-old Marc Fogel was arrested in Russia last year after authorities found medical cannabis in his possession.

Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported that if found guilty, Leake could face up to 12 years in prison.

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The US Olympian said she plans to return to the WNBA and help fight for the release of other cannabis prisoners, including US Marine Paul Whelan, who is still detained in Russia.

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Brittney Griner is back on American soil following ten months in Russian custody on drug charges. But other U.S. citizens remain locked up in Russia, including a 61-year-old man whose detention mirrors the experience of Griner. 

Politico published a story last week on Marc Fogel, who was arrested last year after Russian authorities found medical marijuana in his possession. 

“Fogel’s case bears a striking similarity to Griner’s, which has captured national headlines since the WNBA star was detained in Russia in February 2022. Like Griner, Fogel — a 61-year-old history teacher from Pennsylvania who lived in Russia while teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow — was taken into custody by Russian authorities in August 2021 after customs officials at a Russian airport discovered around half an ounce of medical marijuana stashed in his luggage,” Politico reported. 

“The drugs had been prescribed to him by doctors in the U.S. to help treat chronic pain stemming from a series of injuries and operations, but Fogel’s reasons didn’t matter. Ten months later, in June 2022, a Russian court convicted him of drug trafficking charges and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. In October, Fogel was transferred from a Moscow detention center to one of Russia’s notorious penal colonies, where he is slated to serve the remainder of his sentence,” the outlet continued. 

Griner, a perennial all-star for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and one of the most decorated women’s basketball players ever, was released last week after U.S. and Russian officials negotiated a prisoner swap. In exchange for the release of Griner, the U.S. agreed to free Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

The deal drew some criticism from those who lamented the release of Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death.” There was also disappointment that the U.S. was unable to also secure the release of Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who has been detained by Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

U.S. officials sought a two-for-one deal –– Griner and Whelan in exchange for Bout –– but such an arrangement never materialized.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” President Joe Biden said last week following Griner’s release. 

Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in February after officials found a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law. In August, a Russian court found her guilty and sentenced her to nine years in prison. 

Griner’s detention attracted international attention, and emerged as a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Russia. Foley’s case, meanwhile, has flown decidedly under the radar. 

“The State Department has not granted him “wrongfully detained” status, despite repeated appeals from a bipartisan group of lawmakers and Fogel’s lawyers. (A spokesperson for the State Department declined to comment on the specifics of Fogel’s case, saying: “The Department continuously reviews the circumstances surrounding the detentions of U.S. nationals overseas, including those in Russia, for indicators that they are wrongful.”) In the media, Fogel’s detention has been overshadowed by the coverage of Griner and Paul Whelan, an American businessman and former Marine who has been held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges,” Politico reported last week.

“It’s a bit mysterious to me why we [aren’t] talking about three Americans — now, thankfully, two Americans — instead of just one,” said Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, told Politico. “He’s not just some random guy that got arrested — he was part of our community … He taught our kids, the kids of U.S. government officials and he taught our military’s kids.”

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