Only 21 out of a possible 650 MPs turned up to a Parliamentary debate to discuss UK drugs policy following a report suggesting there is no link between tough laws and levels of illegal substance abuse.

The groundbreaking Home Office report, the first time ever the government has highlighted the potential benefits of decriminalising drugs, said there is "no obvious relationship" between imposing penalties for drug taking and levels of drug use after examining polices in other countries.

Juan Palese, 25, stands outside the door of his Urugrow shop, sharing a red-tipped marijuana joint with a group of young friends. The sweet, pungent aroma of cannabis permeates the street as chattering students from Montevideo’s nearby school of social sciences walk heedlessly by.

“Two policemen live here, right next door,” Palese says with a mischievous look, leaning into the entrance of an old house next to his “grow shop”, where he sells fertilisers and compost for growing cannabis at home. Business is good, and a steady trickle of customers arrive throughout the afternoon.

Uruguayan National Party presidential candidate Luis Lacalle Pou gestures during a meeting with businessmen in Montevideo October 8, 2014.

Uruguay's leading opposition candidate said on Wednesday he would try to repeal much of the country's ground-breaking marijuana law, which permits the commercial production and sale of the drug, if he wins Sunday's presidential election.

The South American country became the world's first to allow the cultivation, distribution and use of marijuana, but almost two in three Uruguayans oppose the pioneering experiment that aims to wrest control of the trade from drug gangs.

Medical groups oppose House Bill 4477 which they say is 'contrary to the policy of the state to safeguard the well-being of its citizenry'

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine medical groups on Thursday, October 16, expressed their opposition to a House bill seeking to legalize and regulate the medical use of marijuana in the country.

"We oppose [House Bill] 4477. We cannot risk endangering the health and safety of the Filipino,” read the statement released by the following organizations:

As history is made and states across the nation set out to enact some form of marijuana legislation, the requirement for probable cause is bound to change as well. Currently, there is a very low threshold that needs to be met to allow a police officer to search a person, car or house. However, that is all about to change.

(CS/CBu) Justice Minister Félix Braz has said that Luxembourg needs to rethink its drugs policy, commenting that criminalisation and repressive measures have not had the desired results.

In an interview with the “Luxemburger Wort”, Braz said that there needs to be a fundamental change in the political approach towards drugs. However, he added that the main goal will remain preventing addiction to any type of drug.

An integral reform comprising health policy, criminal law and youth protection issues is on the horizon, he said. However, the debate is still in its infancy, Braz added.

An orientation debate in parliament is set to kick off a wider discussion. “We need to raise awareness for the issue,” the minister said.

In recent weeks the debate on legalization in Italy seems to have increased, at least in terms of quantity of lines dedicated to the topic in the newspapers. And after the explicit statements in favor of legalization by Umberto Veronesi and the undersecretary of the government Renzi Benedetto Della Vedova, we are now recording the reaction of the usual bastions of Prohibition in Italy: Carlo Giovanardi and the community of San Patrignano, who have joined for the occasion the "brilliant" analysis on the topic by Letizia Moratti.

It is, as always, of opinions that in the best case are absolutely ideological and irrational, and at worst they are downright lies. Buffaloes shoot weapons of mass disinformation deliberately.

"THE war on drugs has failed. The criminalisation of people addicted to drugs has been a destructive force in every conceivable arena; from ethics to politics, health to policing, social work to economics.

Addiction is an illness, and recognised as such in almost all instances, including alcohol and gambling. It is quite correctly public policy, not to mention common decency, to help and treat those who are ill. But for those addicted to controlled drugs, this is not currently the case.

Uruguay has launched the first-of-its kind legalization of marijuana, allowing residents who want to grow their own to sign up to do so.

But the new law, which comes with strict guidelines when it enacted in May, received a lukewarm welcome.

Juan Vaz, a well-known cannabis activist, told AP it was because of the years of illegal growing.

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"There are some people who might feel persecuted," Vaz said. "For many years, they grew plants in secret and it's hard to break from that way of thinking."

Under the new law, citizens and legal residents older than 18 can grow up to six female plants and annually harvest up to 480 grams.

Uruguay is the first country in the world to regulate the cultivation and sale of marijuana, AP reported.

Battling terminal lung cancer, Mario Ambrosini passed away during the early hours of Saturday morning at the age of 53. A flurry of tributes have since followed from leading political parties and judicial representatives.