Manabalss.lv, the community initiative portal, has launched a signature drive to have marihuana legalized in Latvia for medical purposes.

The specific entity behind the drive – calling itself "Marihulatvia", reported to LETA that about 100 people have signed the petition so far.

 It also explained the motivation behind the effort: "An opportunity for persons with specific ailments to receive the treatment that is already reality in several countries worldwide – "that can do good in situations where medication cannot."

A UN agency censored an official paper calling for drug use decriminalization. But its message is here to stay

Love has often been described as a drug – but that’s now been backed up by science.

A brain chemical known as the “love hormone” makes people more sociable by mimicking the effects of cannabis, scientists have said.

Oxytocin is known to enhance bonding between lovers and between mothers and their babies, and also to boost the pleasure of social contact.

The new research, conducted on mice, found that higher levels of the hormone in the brain led to the release of anandamide – an “endocannabinoid” similar to the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Reporting from a 5 day fact finding mission in the Netherlands exploring the medical cannabis program and the players in the industry, together with Saul Kaye, our CEO and Jason Ryker, our CFO/COO.

Since we announced our partnership with Israel’s Cannabis Medical Unit and our subsequent postponement of the CannaTech Summit until March, we find ourselves with the time opportunity to investigate interesting markets and build new international relationships.

Dutch pharmacies expect prescriptions for medical marijuana to rise 45% this year, almost double the 25% rise recorded in previous years, according to pharmaceuticals statistics office SFK.

Medical marijuana is not an official medicine in the Netherlands and is not included in the basic health insurance policy. However, the five licenced brands on the Dutch market, produced by the Bedrocan company, are distributed via pharmacies.

In 2012, pharmacies filled some 11,000 prescriptions for medical marijuana but this year the figure is expected to be twice that. The number of users has also doubled form 2,000 to 4,000, the SFK said.

An increase of 45 percent has been recorded for the use of medical marijuana in the Netherlands compared to 2014. This is a much larger increase than in the last four years, which increased a steady 25 percent increase. Patients that are now medically qualify for the use of cannabis no longer have to rely on coffee shops, now they can get there medical marijuana, via prescription, at their local pharmacy, reported the Foundation for Pharmaceutical Studies (SFK).

The first legal cannnabis vaporiser went on sale earlier this year and already it is changing lives, according to its customers.

The MediPen's creators say their device contains a very respectable dose of Cannabidiol, an active ingredient in the cannabis plant with a vast array of positive benefits and health uses.

CBD does not produce any of the psychoactive effects associated with traditional cannabis use, such as paranoia or anxiety.

A user, Amy Yapp, who suffers from fibromyalgia (a condition which causes muscular pain, aches and tenderness) has reviewed the MediPen.

The University has changed its accommodation policy to remove its zero tolerance stance on illegal drugs. This was in part a response to a campaign by the Newcastle chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, (SSDP) an international network of students calling for a welfare-based approach to drugs policy.

The government's new blanket ban on psychoactive substances will be unworkable, difficult to prosecute and will put lives at risk, MPs have heard.

Evidence from legal experts and leading academics, submitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), suggests that prosecutors will struggle to prove that many legal highs are actually psychoactive.

Cases brought against producers of legal highs could fail due to the absence of any clinical trials on humans, MPs heard.