National
Portugal: Judicial Police to hold press conference on operation “Erva Daninha” today
UPDATE (17:46)
The Judicial Police reported that the press conference scheduled for today without a set time has finally been cancelled, and will now only provide information about the “Erva Daninha” case through a statement.
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The Judicial Police are expected to hold a Press Conference today to reveal more information about the Operation “Weed”, which carried out searches, seizures and at least four arrests at medicinal cannabis companies in Portugal. Although the time has not been confirmed, more details about the operation and who the companies involved are, including the people arrested, are expected to be revealed.
Around 300 inspectors from the Judicial Police, accompanied by several judges and prosecutors, were yesterday, Tuesday, May 20, carrying out searches in medicinal cannabis companies throughout the country, as part of a large-scale operation to combat drug trafficking. Operation “Erva Daninha” resulted in at least four arrests.
Num Press release The PJ said that the operation is taking place in Portugal, with several medicinal cannabis companies, with suspicions of international cannabis trafficking. According to the statement, the PJ carried out “64 search and seizure warrants from north to south of the country and also on the island of Madeira”. The criminal organization acquired pharmaceutical companies and exported cannabis illegally to several European and African markets, using false export certificates.
Six search warrants were also served in Spain, one in Bulgaria and another in Cyprus.
CannaReporter has already contacted some companies targeted by the searches and published their reactions. here.
We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as appropriate.
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[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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With a degree in Journalism from the University of Coimbra, Laura Ramos has a postgraduate degree in Photography and has been a Journalist since 1998. Winner of the Business of Cannabis Awards in the category "Journalist of the Year 2024", Laura was a correspondent for Jornal de Notícias in Rome, Italy, and Press Officer in the Office of the Minister of Education of the 21st Portuguese Government. She has an international certification in Permaculture (PDC) and created the street-art photography archive “Say What? Lisbon” @saywhatlisbon. Co-founder and Editor of CannaReporter® and coordinator of PTMC - Portugal Medical Cannabis, Laura directed the documentary “Pacientes” and was part of the steering group of the first Postgraduate Course in GxP's for Medicinal Cannabis in Portugal, in partnership with the Military Laboratory and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon.
Margarita has been a regular contributor to CannaReporter since its inception in 2017, having previously worked for other cannabis-focused media outlets such as Cáñamo magazine (Spain), CannaDouro Magazine (Portugal) and Cannapress. She was part of the original team for the Portuguese edition of Cânhamo in the early 2000s and was part of the organisation of the Global Marijuana March in Portugal between 2007 and 2009.
She recently published the book “Canábis - Maldita e Maravilhosa” / "Cannabis - Cursed and Wonderful" (Ed. Oficina do Livro / LeYA, 2024), about the history of the plant, its ancestral relationship with Humans as a raw material, an entheogen and a recreational drug, as well as the infinite potential it holds in medical, industrial and environmental terms.
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