Any way you look at it, dagga is medicine. Even if you smoke it just to get “high”, the South African weed won’t just alter your consciousness.

It has a host of other powerful pharmacologic effects on body and mind, which make it medicine by definition.

Depending on which side of the legalisation or criminalisation fence you sit on, you’ll see those effects in a good or bad light.

“The dagga couple”, as the media have dubbed activists Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clark, sit on the side of the fence bathed in the glow of a good light. They are part of an influential legalisation campaign in South Africa that has spread faster than the weed grows, and now includes medical doctors, psychologists, lawyers, and other interested parties.

The researchers Manuel Guzmán, Guillermo Velasco and Cristina Sánchez are among the members of this new body. They aim to provide consultation to citizens, media and institutions, always using scientific studies and clinical tests.

For some years now, an important group of Spanish researchers has focussed on analysing the characteristics of cannabis, cannabinoids, and its components with the aim of determining in what way it can help to combat certain illnesses as well as its side effects.

French police have seized more than seven tonnes of cannabis from three hired vans parked on a Paris street, France's largest haul in two years.

Customs officers found 7.1 tonnes of cannabis resin in the unoccupied vans in the affluent 16th district of the capital, the Finance Ministry, which oversees the customs service, said in a statement on Sunday.

A police source said the consignment had been transported from Morocco via Spain, a common route.

The French drinks group, which recently changed its name from Belvedere, describes Shotka as a “premium” cannabis-flavoured vodka targeted towards “rebellious night-clubbing fans”.

First launched in Spain this summer in partnership with nightlife company Matinée Group, Shotka is said to have the “unique” taste of cannabis, without its narcotic effects.

Spanish actress Rossy de Palma promoted Shotka through a video teaser played at Matinée Group’s Circuit Festival, while 600 Shotka parties were held around the country.

The brand now plans to roll out acorss the US, Canada, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, France, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia and Ukrains, as well as global travel retail.

A 58-year-old Icelander is believed to be one of the ringleaders of a major marijuana plantation in Molina de Segura, Spain, RÚV reports. He rented a warehouse in which the drugs were produced. The facility produced at least ten tons of cannabis a month, valued at up to ISK 30 billion (USD 241 million, EUR 210 million).

The Molina plantation was exporting ten tons of cannabis per month to Holland

Eight people have been arrested by the Guardia Civil in connection with a marijuana plantation in Molina de Segura which has been described by investigators as “the most sophisticated yet found in Europe”.

BARCELONA -- Multiple sclerosis patients taking the oromucosal cannabis-based spray called Sativex in routine practice to relieve spasticity are getting approximately the same degree of benefit expected from the product's formal trials, according to interim results from two observational studies from Italy reported here.

Modest but statistically significant improvement in spasticity scores (10-point Numerical Rating Scale, NRS) has been seen among 322 patients who added Sativex to standard anti-spasticity drugs and/or physical therapy, according to a group led by Maria Trojano, MD, of the University of Bari, whose ongoing study is called MOVE 2 and who reported data from the first 3 months after enrollment.

BY THE time police were called to look at “a few cannabis plants” in a wasteland in south-west London, the site played host to a forest five feet high and the area of a football pitch. Officers cordoned it off on September 25th, with what sounded almost like a touch of regret for the gardeners. “All their time, trouble and gardening skills”, said Sarah Henderson, a police constable, “will go unrewarded.”

It takes a lot for marijuana growers to attract police attention these days. In July four forces—Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham and Surrey—declared that they would henceforth respond only to tip-offs and “blatant” weed use. Many other forces have also scaled things down, albeit quietly, according to Steve Rolles of Transform, a drug-policy think-tank.

A YACHT was so laden down with it's illegal cargo that it was on the verge of sinking when Spanish customs officers intercepted it.

The yacht was 27 miles south west of Almeria, when it was discovered by the customs officers, struggling to stay afloat.

As the officers boarded the vessel they found that the entire living area was jam packed with packages, which turned out to contain cannabis.

The boat, which was flying under the Dutch flag had three crew members, two men and one woman, who were promptly arrested and charged with smuggling and endangering public health.

A ministry spokesperson said “the drugs took up all the available space on the yacht, the hull was packed full with the packages and you could not see the cabin beds or floor.”