The world has had a long and complicated relationship with hemp.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that hemp fell out of favor as one of the most important crops in the history of mankind. In 2016, however, anything is possible it seems.

So, it could be very soon where a variety of applications using hemp become economical, and hemp grows into a boon for society.

What was once a widespread plant became a taboo within decades. Its history shows it is useful for tens of thousands of applications and counting. 

Ilyass El Omari, President of the Regional Council of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, organized the first international conference on drugs and cannabis on 18 and 19 March in Tangier. 

Under the motto “All for Alternatives Based on Sustainable Development, Health and Human Rights,” elected officials, experts and scholars presented their views on the issue of cannabis plantations and alternatives available to local cultivators.

Although the Koran does not specifically outlaw cannabis, and it was apparently never mentioned by Mohammed himself, the plant and products made from it are still considered haraam (forbidden). However, cannabis grows and is processed into hashish in many Muslim-majority countries around the world, and it has been an undeniable part of the culture for centuries in many of these countries.  

Our own Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations has made a suggestion on cannabis that has stunned many people in Ghana and elsewhere in the world. The soft spoken 2nd African after late Butros Butros Gali of Egypt to occupy the highest civil service position at the UN is noted for speaking more on democracy, security and good governance. However quite recently he veered surprisingly into pushing for the legalization of cannabis and other personal drugs with the advice that regulations must be put in place by governments to curtail their abuse.

March 8 is International Women's Day, celebrated in today's Google Doodle with a video asking women all over the world to finish the sentence, "One day I will..."

The answers run the gamut from personal dreams like "play in the Major Leagues" to more global aspirations like Malala Yousafzai's wish to "see every girl in school." And like International Women's Day itself, the video is both a celebration of women's lives and achievements, and a call to action to make their lives better.

What is International Women's Day?

These days, it's a corporate-sponsored global campaign to raise awareness of women's issues worldwide.

Ladies, to celebrate International Women’s Day we wanted to explore how independent women, and the characters they’ve inspired, have been celebrated on the silver screen. Below are our top picks for some great flicks to get you in the mood for IWD. 

The Accused (1988)

When Sarah (Jodie Foster) fights back against the men who brutally gang-raped her, she must not only face the men she accuses, she must defend herself against society’s deeply embedded view that ‘she was asking for it.’

New York — It's widely acknowledged that the "war on drugs" has failed. A militarised approach based on prohibition and incarceration has stoked staggering levels of violence and misery, cost billions of dollars, and failed to reduce either supply or demand.

In April, the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) will adopt a consensus position on drug control, but few are expecting a shake-up to the current, conservative, global framework.

That's why some reformers are turning to the Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint for the future.

Critics of the "war on drugs" campaign have long evoked the term "harm reduction" to lobby for a more humane approach that treats addiction as a health problem rather than a crime.

Ghana is gradually moving towards decriminalizing the use of marijuana.

A process has begun towards crafting legislation to decriminalize the use of marijuana and other narcotics.

This will ensure that attitudes to drug addicts move away from shaming them to helping them.

A new report by the International Narcotics Control Board lists the drug as the most abused substance in West Africa.

According to the report, only one out of 18 addicts gets help as a result of the criminalization.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recently called for the decriminalization of cannabis to help tackle abuse of the substance.

Rabat – The 2015 report by the International Narcotics Control Board reported that Morocco remains one of the world’s largest producers of cannabis and is Europe’s leading supplier of cannabis resin.

The UN-affiliated board noted that since its visit to the Moroccan government in 2009, the kingdom has demonstrated a “high” level of cooperation in anti-narcotics efforts, especially in the fields of preventing citizens from using cannabis, reducing the area of lands cultivating the plant, and treating narcotics addiction.

Morocco is one of the largest producers of cannabis resin in the world, according to the 2015 report published by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

Much of this production destined for Europe is smuggled from Morocco, notes the report of the INCB, an independent body to monitor the implementation of United Nations international conventions on drug control.

"Morocco remains one of the largest producers of cannabis resin and remains one of the main countries where the resin is smuggled to Europe," says the document, noting that "Morocco was these past ten years, among the three most frequently cited countries as source or transit area of ​​the seized resin in the world".