Last year, during a congressional hearing on the threat posed by stoned drivers, a representative of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was asked how many crash fatalities are caused by marijuana each year. “That’s difficult to say,” replied Jeff Michael, NHTSA’s associate administrator for research and program development. “We don’t have a precise estimate.” The most he was willing to affirm was that the number is “probably not” zero.

A RASTAFARIAN lawyer convicted before on two counts of dagga possession appeared in the Simons Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Gareth Prince, 42, his wife Juanita Adams, 40, and daughter Samantha Adams, 19, were arrested at their Glen Cairn home on Wednesday.

His pro bono lawyer, Naven Pillay, told the court Prince used the substance on a “strictly religious basis”.

In 2002, the Cape Law Society refused to admit Prince as an attorney because he had two criminal convictions for possession of dagga.

At the time, Prince said he would not stop smoking what is regarded by Rastafarians as a “holy herb”.

He later lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for the substance to be legalised.

But this was rejected.

SAPSPolice spotted a group of men carrying the bags and accompanying 30 donkeys near Sandlwana.

Durban - In one of the biggest dagga busts in KwaZulu-Natal, police arrested 13 men using 30 donkeys to smuggle dagga worth millions of rand across the mountains from Lesotho into South Africa.

In a joint raid, mounted units from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the police made the arrests in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park.

In total, 66 bags of dagga with a street value of R3.6 million were seized.

The 13 men, aged between 25 and 33, were expected to appear in the Bergville Magistrate’s Court on Friday for being in possession of dagga and an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

“Decriminalise the use of medicinal cannabis in its raw form.” Click here to sign this petition at Avaaz.org New Zealand patients need safe legal access to medicinal cannabis

Find out more about medicinal cannabis
Download or read NORML’s leaflet about Medical Cannabis [PDF]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Support for cannabis in Florida seems to be burning brighter, and an eclectic group of advocates took to the Capitol today to make sure a possible new law in 2015 doesn't go up in smoke.

They came from all parts of the state and headed to the 22nd floor of the Capitol, the highest place you can get in Tallahassee. There were the seniors, the veterans, the drug smugglers, and the guy who needs service dogs for his injuries. All in support of medical cannabis.

Jeff Clemens first filed a marijuana bill four years ago.

“The people are either supporting family members or their own ability to be able to treat their illnesses the way they see fit,” said Sen. Clemens (D-Lake Worth).

(Photo courtesy of Greg de Hoedt / the Brighton Cannabis Club)

NEW YORK CITY — A Church of Scientology-backed anti-drug program is spreading its message to students in dozens of city public schools, DNAinfo New York has learned.

The Foundation for a Drug Free World, which was founded in 2006 by the controversial church, visited 30 city public schools last year, providing free anti-drug programs to elementary, middle and high school students in all five boroughs, according to its Facebook page.

The city's Department of Education denied any partnership with the group and said it did not recommend its services.

The Foundation's materials claim cocaine use leads to murder and suicide and that heroin use causes spontaneous abortions in women — claims not endorsed or are widely rejected by doctors. 

The Green Party is calling for action towards legalising industrial hemp and cannabis.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party said the bill is ready for discussion next week between various state services.

“Industrial cannabis and medicinal marijuana add an important new venture in the agricultural and industrial sectors, which can develop further and increase state revenue” according to the Greens.

The statement also mentions medicinal use of marijuana in Europe and America, where cannabis is used as a main ingredient in the field of medicine.

The Green Party advocates it is time to break taboos and step into a new era. The success found in industries of other countries should be a guide for us too, it said.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the House on Wednesday that aims to put an end to the federal ban on hemp production in the United States.

The Industrial Hemp Farming Act would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana and would allow for American farmers in any state to grow the crop.

This year, together with Spannabis, the first edition of the World Cannabis Conferences will be held at the Auditorium of Cornellá. This will be undertaken with the assistance of high-ranking individuals from the fields of science, medicine and politics, as well as relevant members of the cannabis culture.

The World Cannabis Conferences have been set up with the aim of bringing to life all the advances and effortsconducted over the past years in the field of cannabis.