European Union countries are unlikely to legalize marijuana any time soon as some parts of the United States have done recently, EU drug monitoring agency chief Wolfgang Gotz said on Thursday.

He did not spell out why he expected no corresponding EU moves. But in a statement, his agency said a key finding in its latest annual report was a "marked rise in the potency and purity of Europe's most commonly used illicit drugs, fuelling concerns for the health of users who, wittingly or unwittingly, may be consuming stronger products".

It also pointed out an increase in the numbers of cannabis-related health emergencies in Europe between 2008 and 2012.

Use of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and amphetamine at its highest in UK compared to rest of continent, the EU’s drug agency has revealed.

The UK is the drugs capital of Europe with reported use of cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and amphetamine at its highest across the continent, the EU’s drug agency has revealed.

Seizures of heroin and MDMA were also higher in the UK than in any of its neighbours, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

And legal highs continued to flood in to the continent with 101 new substances reported last year, a rise of 25 per cent on the previous year, the agency said.

Geneva prosecutor agrees to close investigation into HSBC in return for the financial settlement

HSBC has been ordered to pay a record 40m Swiss francs (£28m) and been given a final warning by the Geneva authorities for “organisational deficiencies” which allowed money laundering to take place in the bank’s Swiss subsidiary.

The settlement means the Swiss will not prosecute HSBC or publish the findings of their investigation into alleged aggravated money laundering. But Geneva’s chief prosecutor, Olivier Jornot, cautioned that the bank was on notice, saying: “This is an excuse which will only apply once.”

The production of psychoactive substances is on the rise is Europe with cannabis still being the most used drug in the European Union, the bloc's drug agency said in its yearly report published on Thursday (4 June).

The annual report published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) showed that over a hundred new psychoactive substances were detected in Europe in 2014 and risk assessments were conducted on six new drugs, marking record highs.

IN 2000 a report published by Europe’s drug agency (EMCDDA) found that Britain had an unusually large number of young cannabis users: they “topped the EU league”, as one British paper spun it. This year’s report, published on June 4th, showed that in the past 15 years the tables have turned. While the number of 15- to 34-year-olds using pot has risen or held steady in most countries, in England and Wales it has almost halved (see chart). Why?

LISBON, Portugal -- Marijuana continues to be the European Union's most commonly used drug, with almost 79 million EU citizens estimated to have tried it at some point in their lives, the bloc's drug agency said in a report published Thursday.

That is almost a quarter of the EU's adult population and compares with some 15.6 million who have tried cocaine, the second most popular drug, the Lisbon, Portugal-based agency said.

The annual European Drug Report said marijuana accounts for 80 per cent of drug seizures on the continent and 60 per cent of all reported drug law offences.

The National Drug Council accepted a motion Tuesday to allow a drug made from cannabis flowers to relieve pain for people with certain diseases.

Switzerland could allow a drug made from cannabis flowers (cannabis flos) to relieve pain for people with multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS among others.

By 123 votes against 39, the National Council accepted the Tuesday, June 2  motion of Margrit Kessler (PVL / SG) requesting to study the issue.

In Switzerland, people suffering from chronic pain often prefer to obtain cannabis illegally as licensed therapies are expensive and complicated to obtain, stressed the Vert'libérale.

You have to love those random messages you receive from friends traveling abroad. A couple months ago my friend Judy wrote me from Mexican beach town Playa del Carmen with the news that $140 cannabis-adorned bongs were being sold inside the local Walmart down there. And this morning my friend Erin hit me up with a photo of something equally surprising out of Spain.

Erin has seen the future, friends. And it comes in the form of Cannabis Absinthe.

Sure enough, it’s all over the place in Europe. Distributor Antonio Nadal calls its Absenta Cannabis 80 “green absinthe with hints of wormwood and hops with a high alcohol content.”

Executive summary: 

After the Block proposed in 2013 the legalize of cannabis cultivation for personal consumption and creation of social cannabis clubs, the new draft law was presented once again by the Left Bloc,  and was rejected in general this Friday in the National Assembly. The PCP joined their vote of right-wing parties, PSD and CDS to reject the Block project. PS and the Greens abstained, but 10 socialist deputies voted in favour.