Federal trademark officials in Alexandria, Va., recently received an unusual package: a hand-delivered parcel containing vials of a clear liquid that smelled of oranges.

The sender wasn’t a crank. It was a corporate trademark lawyer representing Flotek Industries Inc., a Texas producer of hydraulic-fracturing fluids used to extract oil and gas from rocks deep in the earth.

Cannabis News Network reporters from Berlin, Vienna and Valencia went out on the streets to buy cannabis from street dealers. By doing so, they try to get an idea of the quality by bringing over the samples to a testing facility. in Amsterdam.

Organized crime in the European Union generates about 110 billion euros a year, corresponding to around 1 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product, a recent report commissioned by the European Commission found, with the bulk of that coming from the “traditional” market of illegal narcotics.

The report, titled “From Illegal Markets to Legitimate Businesses: The Portfolio of Organized Crime in Europe,” compiled by Project OCP – Organized Crime Portfolio, found that in Greece, organized crime generates just under 3.6 billion euros, corresponding to 1.6 percent of GDP (in 2010), significantly more than in Croatia (134 million euros; 0.3 pct/GDP) but also less than in Latvia, where 514 million euros of proceeds account for 2.8 percent of GDP.

A day before a scheduled vet appointment to euthanize her dog, Wendy Mansfield decided to try one last resort to alleviate the chronic pain of her 15-year-old labrador mix: cookies from a marijuana dispensary made specifically for ailing dogs.

Kali, a mild-mannered 80-pound rescue, was never much of a complainer. But she often licked her paws—an obvious sign of pain, according to her vet—which was typically accompanied by bouts of coughing because of the shedding fur that got in her throat. One cookie and 20 minutes later, the licking suddenly stopped.

Polish marijuana laws are harsh, arguably the harshest in all of Europe. For simple posession of any amount you can go to prison for up to 3 years. If the amount you are caught with is „considerable” (a term not defined by the law, always left for the consideration of the judge), the sentence can be raised to 10 years. Transport and trafficking within the EU is a serious crime penalized with 3 to 15 years in jail.

This March, our video advocacy team attended the 58th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the largest drug policy gathering in the world, to find out how governments and NGOs feel about the prospects of drug policy reform. We produced a series of short thematic videos, to give you an overview of the current state of political debate on the burning issues of international drug control.

Internationally, drug policy is at a crossroads: the debate is shifting from a paradigm based on criminalising drug users, to a more public-health-oriented approach. But is this only a change in rhetoric, or a sign of real political reform? We asked activists who have been attending the CND for several years. 

Internationally, drug policy is at a crossroads: the debate is shifting from a paradigm based on criminalising drug users, to a more public-health-oriented approach. But is this only a change in rhetoric, or a sign of real political reform? We asked activists who have been attending the CND for several years. 

As for the European market for cannabis (EMCDDA), according to the result of the EU drugs agency in Lisbon in recent years there is a major change: "Morocco" is virtually "out", "indoor" plantations are "in". The Cannabis plants are increasingly grown locally for the local market. This is especially dangerous for those behind the smuggling are bypassed.

The numbers have changed little in recent years. For example, 24 percent of the Viennese have at least once consumed hemp products, 13 percent within the past three years, six percent in the last 30 days. This is what the "drug monitoring study" found in the past year.

Consumption pervades all age groups

Today we release the first test of all the cannabis we purchased on the streets in order to get a better idea of its quality.

Lots is being said about the quality of cannabis around the globe. THC-levels, lack of CBD especially for medicinal use, the presence of pesticides and other contaminants, some used to increase weight.

Cannabis News Network is introducing the CannaTest, a test which shows which compounds are present in the plant. Reporters from all over the EU will gather weed from street dealers which will be tested in one testing facility.

The goal? To monitor, record and report the state of cannabis in Europe.