France will introduce a new law by the end of the year to soften punishments for cannabis use, officials say.

The legislation, a key promise of President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign, will end prison terms for marijuana consumers.

But the changes will stop short of decriminalising use of the drug, according to government spokesman Christophe Castaner.

France is one of half-a-dozen countries in the EU that still criminalises cannabis use, in contrast to Portugal.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSXV: ACB) announced just before Friday’s closing bell that it plans to acquire Germany’s Pedanios GmbH, a wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union (EU). Aurora Cannabis’ stock had been halted for more than 24 hours pending this news.

France intends to soon stop prosecuting marijuana possession with years of imprisonment, according to a statement by Gérard Collomb, the newly appointed interior minister.

Under new rules that are currently being developed, cannabis possession will be degraded from the highest status of crime to the lowest one, called "contravention" in the French judiciary system. As such, violators will no longer be subject to imprisonment; instead, people found in possession of marijuana will simply have to pay a fine of €100 ($111).

A medicine made from marijuana, without the stuff that gives a high, cut seizures in kids with a severe form of epilepsy in a study that strengthens the case for more research into pot's possible health benefits.

"This is the first solid, rigorously obtained scientific data" that a marijuana compound is safe and effective for this problem, said one study leader, Dr. Orrin Devinsky of NYU Langone Medical Center.

He said research into promising medical uses has been hampered by requiring scientists to get special licenses, plus legal constraints and false notions of how risky marijuana is.

Europe may seem like an increasingly divided continent, but there is one thing that unites its people: an obsession with using tobacco to smoke cannabis. Up to 90% of Europeans combine tobacco with cannabis, according to the latest Global Drug Survey. By comparison, only 8% of Americans smoke cannabis this way.

Cannabis is illegal in the UK – and many other European countries – and it has known harms, but the reality is that many people use the drug anyway. Consequently, policy needs to reflect this reality.

MGC Pharmaceuticals are on track to launch their dermatological product range in Europe in the third quarter of 2017 after producing a solid set of results from a final clinical trial.

Three products in the company’s DermaPlus product range were tested on 90 volunteers over a threemonth period with the independent trial conducted by Dr Rok Devjak at a leading dermatological clinic in Solvenia.

According to the company the results were very positive and the latest endorsement of MGC Pharma’s claims of the medicinal and healing powers of cannabis. 

The Parliament of the Canary Islands has asked the Spanish central government and the Cortes to regulate cannabis use, “from the perspective that it is a product that carries risks to health.”  Only the conservative PP, Paritdo Popular, opposed the request.

The non-legal proposal, jointly promoted by the Canarian Coalition , PSOE, Podemos and ASG, also argues that as long as there is no state regulation, cannabis clubs and associations in the Canary Islands establish de facto mechanisms for self-regulation, good practice and collaboration with the administration .

“First-mover advantage.” Why Canadian weed producers will dominate the global marijuana market.

In marketing strategy, there’s a term called “first-mover advantage”. It’s when a few key players in a particular industry gain an advantage because they entered into the marketplace first. These companies are able to establish strong brand recognition, shore up the best sources of funding, and build a loyal customer base simply because there aren’t any competitors in the way during their first few years of operation. 

Some people think the Lib Dems are potty after they unveiled one of the most radical policies of the general election campaign so far.

The party, led by Tim Farron , said it would legalise cannabis and allow it to be sold openly if it wins.

The plan is to “break the grip of criminal gangs” through the creation of a “legal, regulated market” while raising up to £1billion in tax.

So is it more than just a pipe dream?