Last month’s annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has revealed that Danish cannabis is Europe’s strongest by far.

However, Metroxpress reports that according to figures it has obtained from Giftlinjen, Denmark’s poison control hotline, the use of marijuana has resulted in the number of Danes calling poison control centres to skyrocket in recent months.

Puff, puff, pass (out)

The figures revealed that last year, Giftlinjen received a total of 203 calls concerning cannabis overuse. The number of Danes seeking help at hospitals for the same reason has also increased.

A DEA official responded at length today to a widely-circulated report that the DEA plans to effectively legalize medical cannabis this August.

In an interview with aNewDomain today, DEA staff coordinator Russ Bear wouldn’t confirm the Santa Monica Observer report that the DEA will reschedule cannabis as a prescription-only Schedule II drug on Aug. 1, 2016. But he did comment at length about the agency’s thoughts around legalizing medical cannabis and how rescheduling cannabis from its current Schedule I status would have to work.

A fully budded marijuana plant ready for trimming is seen at the Botanacare marijuana store ahead of their grand opening on New Year's day in Northglenn, Colorado December 31, 2013. Reuters/Rick Wilking/File Photo

Marijuana consumption by Colorado high school students has dipped slightly since the state first permitted recreational cannabis use by adults, a new survey showed on Monday, contrary to concerns that legalization would increase pot use by teens.

The biannual poll by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment also showed the percentage of high school students indulging in marijuana in Colorado was smaller than the national average among teens.

It would appear no amount of weed is too small for the federal government to prosecute as it works toward legalizing the drug for recreational use.

Brandon Richards was pulled over after leaving the parking lot of a Guelph strip club shortly after 1 a.m. in October 2014 for a sobriety check. He passed, but the officer said he detected the odour of marijuana.

The big discovery: 1.15 g of pot. A street value of about $10.

Richards was charged with simple possession, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the federal agency that handles drug crimes, chose to take the matter to court, where Richards was found guilty and ordered to pay a $100 fine in April 2015.

The Liberals, with their promise of legalization, were elected to power a few months later.

Starting Wednesday (June 22), simple possession of marijuana in New Orleans will carry far fewer consequences for repeat offenders. Police have been able since 2010 to issue a court summons to someone caught for the first time with weed. Now that option will extend to subsequent offenses.

The City Council approved an ordinance in March that gives New Orleans police greater latitude on pot possession. They are attempting to help police spend less time on minor crimes and keep low-level offenders out of the city's jail.

International Business Times sat down with former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian party's nominee for president, to hear about his stance on legalizing marijuana. Only four states and Washington, D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana. 

See the video and below for Johnson's thoughts.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on Thursday to allow banks to provide financial services to legal recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries, according to The Denver Post.

Marijuana is still listed as a Schedule 1 substance by the federal government, so marijuana businesses in states where recreational use is legal, like Colorado, are forced to operate on an all-cash basis.

The Ontario government is quietly gearing up for legalized marijuana sales, the Star has learned.

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to allow recreational cannabis use as early as next year, Queen’s Park has begun work on how distribution and retailing will eventually be handled.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa says a working group has been struck comprised of bureaucrats from his department, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Attorney General.

“We’re working with the feds. With their commitment to legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana, we are going to work with them,” Sousa said in an interview.

BudLand is excited to announce that they are planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign for “Dealers”, a new card game centered around weed dealing for 2-6 players, rated 18+. To print the first edition, the team needs to raise $7,000. If BudLand raises more than that they plan on investing the money in starting to make their next product, an animated web show. 

Colorado pot skeptics have been cleared to start work on the most sweeping effort yet to attack legalization of the drug.

A ballot measure cleared for petitioning Thursday by the Colorado Supreme Court would set new potency and packaging limits on recreational marijuana.

Under the proposal, packaging would have to include warnings that marijuana carries a risk of “permanent loss of brain abilities.” The measure also includes a new potency limit, meaning that popular forms of marijuana such as vape pens and some edibles would be illegal.

Supporters of the measure say that most marijuana sold today is too strong and that current warning labels are inadequate.