Given that 39.6% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, cancers affects nearly everyone. Chances are, someone close to you has battled cancer.

If you go by United Nation figures, Icelanders consume the most cannabis as a percentage of the national population. However, if you take a closer look at the numbers, that doesn’t mean much.

More than 18% of the Icelandic population consumed cannabis throughout the year in 2012, topping the U.S.’s reported 15.4% during 2013, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The U.N. figures are largely self-reported and the years the data were collected vary by country.

Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the chemical components found in marijuana, may have fast-acting antidepressant effects, according to a study published in Neuropharmacology.

Marijuana has long been valued in many cultures for its mood-altering effects. Neuroscientists have identified several ways CBD influences neurochemical processes, especially by affecting production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and glutamate. Because the same brain systems are known to be related to depression, it has been suggested that CBD has the potential to impact depression through these pathways.

Pot. Cannabis. Mary Jane. The plant with psychotropic properties has a long pop culture presence — and an even longer record of use.

1. Pot. Weed. Mary Jane. Sticky-icky. Nicknames aside, much of the world calls the psychotropic plant by its scientific name, cannabis, and — until the early 20th century — so did Americans.

2. About a hundred years ago, however, the term marijuana became common in the United States, the result of anti-cannabis, anti-immigrant advocates trying to link recreational use of the plant to migrant workers from Mexico.

International attention was raised yesterday in the conference held inside the European Parliament in Brussels on hemp and medical cannabis hosted by SYRIZA MEP, Stelios Kouloglou. 

Prominent figures from the world of politics, international organizations and civil society and many participants from all over Europe to the US participated in a rich and constructive debate on the therapeutic value of cannabis and the multiple uses resulting from the cultivation of this plant helping thus to boost the employment and the economy.

The European magazine Politico announced the conference with a special report entitled “is growing hemp the way to save the Greek economy?”

Marijuana legalization has been a political issue in the United States for some time, and while it remains illegal in most states, others have softened their stance in recent years. Colorado and Washington both passed initiatives by popular vote to decriminalize and legalize cannabis in 2012. In 2014, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., followed suit. Many states including Massachusetts, California, Missouri, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada and Ohio have flirted with legalization for a few election cycles, with buzz growing.

The United States isn't the only country where people use marijuana legally or illicitly. In fact, it isn’t even the country with the highest reported marijuana use.

The uncertain fate of cannabis clubs in "the Amsterdam of southern Europe"

It was 7 p.m. on July 10, 2014. Albert Centellas was smoking a joint in the spacious lounge of Club Kali, a quasi-legal cannabis club an hour's drive south of Barcelona. He heard a loud bang, like a thunderclap, and then another. The police were breaking down the door.

By Anthony Johnson

Political victories are easy to see, but there are often underlying cultural events that shape our progress.  Spannabis, one of the world’s leading cannabis festivals, is an example in Spain. Most of the cannabis community is likely unaware that tens of thousands of revelers attend the event every year, making the event one of the largest cannabis festivals in the world. Spannabis helps bring the European cannabis community together and help promote tolerant, progressive attitude across the continent.

If a 29-year-old man, alleged to part of a gang bringing large amounts of cannabis into the country, was released on bail police believed they may never see him again, Craigavon Magistrates court heard last Friday.

A detective said this during a bail application on behalf of Cao Jiahuan, Clonavon Avenue, Portadown.

The defendant faces charges of illegal entry to the United Kingdom and aiding and abetting the illegal importation of cannabis on October 12 last year.

Jiahuan appeared in court by way of videolink from Maghaberry prison.

Opposing bail the detective said the case involved the interception of £300,000 worth of herbal cannabis which was on its way from Spain to Portadown.

The truck was intercepted as they leave Andalusia …

A tonne of cannabis resin was seized on Monday in Biriatou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), near the Spanish border, hidden in barrels of olives  on a lorry registered in Spain, it has been reported on Wednesday by Customs officials.

Customs officers intercepted the truck on Monday afternoon, when he came from Andalusia and was carrying 93 barrels of olives  to the Netherlands.

“After canvassing several tons, customs encounter resistance at one of the barrels.Under the  olives, they discovered clear bags containing herbal cannabis and cannabis resin bales, “said the General Directorate of Customs in a statement.