This Saturday afternoon, 2 May, in the city center of Lyon has been the scene of two militant demonstrations. A rally against the adoption of surveillance law has crossed the world of cannabis.

The first event, an opposition rally in the surveillance law that will be voted on in the National Assembly on Tuesday, met with Terreaux 500 people according to organizers, 150 according to police. Participants included members of the collective Lyon Without surveillance. On their website, they oppose a bill that, among others, "contains two articles that allow the interception of all data from all French citizens live on the Internet in order to turn over "suspicious" behavior ".

From so-called drugs, there is usually only negative to report. The thoroughly existing medical potential of psychoactive substances is therefore often not perceived or further explored. Apart from cannabis currently but also substances such as LSD and Ketamine again get  more attention in medical research. How narrow is the line between drug and drug? Which medical potentials are currently being explored? And what are the risks?

Cannabis on prescription?

In Europe, the legislation varied from one country to another. And the most stringent laws do not necessarily produce the best effects.

According to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), nearly one in two French smoked cannabis. However, France has one of the toughest laws on drug use, even so-called "soft" drugs. In Europe, laws differ. On one hand the countries that decriminalize, are tolerant, do not condemn. And conversely those which are very severe. Scientific studies are struggling to establish links between the laws in force and the actual consumption of drugs. If consumption is sometimes tolerated in different forms, the sale and cultivation of cannabis are of course mostly misdemeanors.

Countries that tolerate

According to the recent study published by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), by the age of 17 one in two have tried cannabis in 2014. More worrying, they are almost one in ten do make it a habit.

"It is not serious at 17 years", wrote Rimbaud. But how? For the first time in a decade, is cannabis use bullish among French adolescents.

If the study published Tuesday by the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction does not tell us much more about the reasons for this increase, the figures are nonetheless revealing.

47.8% of young people have already tried cannabis

Why do we all salivate and desire flavour when smoking cannabis? Are ‘the munchies’ caused by the substance or does our body need the extra energy?… obviously not. A team of European neuroscientists led by Giovanni Marsicano from the University of Bordeaux found that, in mice, THC fits into receptors in the brain’s olfactory bulb, significantly increasing the animals’ ability to smell food and leading them to eat more of it.

The 'partial-prohibition' sought to ban smokers from France and Luxembourg

The French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) and the National Prevention and Health Education Institute (INPE) released on Friday a report on the levels of use of illicit drugs in France in 2014. The the study shows that cannabis use among young people has increased.

34% of young men aged 18 to 25 surveyed say they have consumed cannabis at least once in 2014. In 2010 it was 29%. Among young women, although less likely to have used cannabis in the past year (23%), the change is even more significant (+6 points since 2010).

Regular use (at least 10 uses in the 30 days preceding the survey) also relates to 11% of young men aged 18 to 25 years and 6% of young women.

Increased supply

On 2 April, the Senate closed the door on the possibility to legalize cannabis in France proposed by Senator EELV Esther Benbassa. Exit selling it alongside cigarettes and stamps in tobacco. Exit? Not for long.

They had argued, detailed and demonstrated the benefits of the legalization of cannabis in France, but the bill of Senator EELV went up in smoke April 2 before the Senate. Esther Benbassa encouraged to not give up.

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. 

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. offshoot that targets young, urban gardeners has acquired a Santa Rosa, California-based hydroponics company popular with marijuana growers.

Hawthorne Gardening Co., a Scotts subsidiary formed in October, purchased General Hydroponics Inc. and Bio-Organic Solutions Inc.

Terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition should position the company in the growing marijuana market.