In the same five year period cautions for possession fell 48 per cent and the number of people charged fell by 33 per cent.

A 46 per cent fall in the number of arrests for cannabis possession in England and Wales shows the Government must start "developing rational, evidence based policies as alternatives to criminalising cannabis consumers," advocates of cannabis legalisation say.

Data released after a freedom of information request by the BBC shows arrests fell between 2010 and 2015 from 35,367 to 19,115.

In the same five year period, cautions for possession fell 48 per cent and the number of people charged fell by 33 per cent.

Legalisation and acceptance of medical cannabis as a cure or therapy for certain clinical ailments is gaining global traction.

As cities across the globe act to industrialise medical cannabis, several companies have begun to position themselves as first movers in product development and distribution.

MMJ Phytotech (ASX:MMJ) is one such company establishing itself in this space.

MMJ is developing quickly and has identified key priorities moving forward, one is to leverage its offshore operations in Australia by importing CBD capsules from Switzerland which are similar to those currently selling in Europe.

Cannabis, hemp or marijuana is our oldest crop, sown for over 12,000 years (1), and may have been domesticated over 30,000 years ago. It produces more fuel, fiber, food and medicine than any other plant (2). The seeds of cannabis produce the most productive and nutritious vegetable oil and protein (3). Hemp produces more fiber, from its stems and stalks, than any other plant (4), and hemp fiber can be used to make paper, canvas, rope, lace, linen, building materials and more. Cannabis flowers and leaves also produce over 100 unique compounds known as cannabinoids that have many physical and psychological effects. (5)

Daily Stock Reporter is issuing a report on four stocks to watch. VAPE, HEMP, TRTC, and CBIS have been added to our watchlist yesterday.

Given that 39.6% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, cancers affects nearly everyone. Chances are, someone close to you has battled cancer.

The Liberal Democrats have announced a proposal for cannabis law reform in the UK. It is not without precedent, coming at a time of global change in how governments respond to cannabis use, and is not a niche issue. Government figures show over 6% of the UK population used cannabis in 2014-2015 alone.

Amsterdam has been a symbol of cannabis freedom for a few decades already. Long traditions like Cannabis cup and coffeeshops created a profile of a city that welcomes tourists from all over the world just because there is no problem smoking weed here. Whether you just want to do some cannabis tasting, or you just like to buy some cannabis seeds to grow home, Amsterdam is the place to be.

So, here we are. Tourist buses load off thousands of weed-hungry people, older couples visit the Red Light district and stop for a smoke and a laugh at one of the biggest attractions: coffeeshops. I mean “coffeeshops” with many “”””…Nowhere is “coffee” so popular. It is a normal day in Amsterdam.

The 79-year old is running to be London Mayor for the Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol party.

Lee Harris mentions so many jobs in the course of our interview that it becomes hard to keep up. “Once I told my children I’ve done about 40 jobs”, he laughs. That list includes: actor, washing machine salesman, freelance journalist, playwright, house father for delinquent boys, market researcher, mortuary attendant, youth theatre group leader, dishwasher and supply teacher at a secondary modern girls’ school. To denizens of London’s counter-culture, Harris is best known as a spoken word performer, the publisher of Europe’s first cannabis magazine, and the owner of Alchemy, Britain's oldest head shop.

The number of aggravated drug crimes uncovered by Finnish authorities declined slightly last year. Meanwhile seizures of marijuana, LSD and doping substances rose compared to 2014.

Six months. It has been barely six months since legalisation of cannabis was debated in parliament – in a side room, with fewer than 20 MPs in attendance. That debate was the result of an online petition that collected more than 200,000 signatures, and yet at the time the vast majority of our MPs did not care enough about the issue to even turn up. One of those few MPs that were at the debate, however, was Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb, and he is now at it again.