German federal authorities have rejected a push for the legal sale of marijuana and hash in a Berlin district, filed by the district mayor. The drugs are easy to purchase even when outlawed, argue local officials.

A federal watchdog blocked the initiative to open cannabis shops in the Berlin quarter of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mayor Monika Herrmann (photo above) said Monday.

Illegal marijuana sales are commonplace in the Berlin quarter, which is famous for its clubbing scene and countercultural events.

The district mayor called the decision by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices "regrettable."

 Cannabis is normal – not criminal

This smart move was used by DHV to enter into a dialogue and encourage a relaxed attitude towards cannabis. Fully in style, the velotaxi bearing the slogan “Schluss mit Krimi – Cannabis normal” (“Cannabis is normal – not criminal”) transported the predominantly drunk passengers from A to B. The association campaigned for tolerance.

“Live and let live, that’s our message,” explains Georg Wurth, the spokesperson for DHV. “Just as friends drinking beer and not causing trouble are left to celebrate in peace, so too should friends smoking pot and not causing trouble be free from persecution by the police.

Cannabis "coffee shops" won't be opening their doors in Berlin any time soon - as the Federal Institute of Pharmaceuticals halted plans to introduce legal cannabis establishments in the city.

Epilepsy sufferers may find relief from seizures thanks to a chemical found in marijuana, but the nation’s drug laws are preventing doctors from conducting important research.

Cannabidiol, an active ingredient in marijuana that doesn’t get smokers high, has been proven to prevent epilepsy seizures, but researchers are having difficulty conducting large scale studies, according to a study published by WebMD.

Marijuana, weed, bud, herb, spliffs, ganja, wacky tobaccy — whatever you call your friendly neighborhood cannabis, it's actually got a stranger and longer history than you likely knew.

A doctor at the Hamburg University pleads for a pilot drug project in coffee shops and pharmacies. For what reason do researchers hope to protect a controlled delivery to consumers.

At the German Congress of addiction Hamburg addiction researcher Jens Reimer has been campaigning for a controlled delivery of cannabis to adults. The risks are too high with a dealer to get product contaminated with lead or other impurities, Reimer said. "In the supermarket there is wine and beer but also ingredients and alcohol content are specified," argued the president of the German Addiction Congress, which ends in Hamburg on Friday.

Does pot make an individual forgetful? Short term memory loss and forgetfulness is often liked to marijuana usage. It is often perceived that marijuana users are a bit slow in terms of comprehension. Numerous studies have emerged in regards to this matter.

The scheme developed by DHV and submitted by the hemp friends of Münster petition for a pilot project for municipal cannabis delivery has led to the goal: The city council of Münster has confirmed, according to a Twitter posting of the SPD today, an appropriate template with the votes of all parties except the CDU. This is not only a success of our 2013 launched campaign for municipal model projects, but also and especially the years, regional lobbying our local Ortsgruppe.

The number of young German adults using cannabis has climbed sharply, according to a study by the country's health education agency. Some officials say it's a sign that better deterrent programs are needed.

Research published by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) on Tuesday found that marijuana use by Germans up to the age of 25 had risen by more than one third over the past six years.

For the study, a total of 7,000 teenagers and young adults were interviewed between May and August 2014. Around 18 percent between the ages of 18 and 25 said they had used marijuana in the past 12 months. That's up from the 11.5 percent saying the same in 2008.

Five new cannabis-centric studies warrant major attention

Scientific discoveries are published almost daily in regard to the healing properties of the cannabis.

But most of these findings appear solely in subscription-only peer-reviewed journals and, therefore, go largely unreported by the mainstream media and by the public.

Here are five just-published cannabis-centric studies that warrant attention.

Men Who Smoke Pot Possess a Reduced Risk of Bladder Cancer

Is cannabis use protective against the development of certain types of cancer?

The findings of a just released study in the journal Urology imply that it might be.