What could be Britain’s highest growth industry of the next decade? There is no shortage of plausible candidates. Driver-less cars could turn into a vast new industry for the first country to get its roads and legal system ready for them. 

Robotics has the potential to be far bigger than computing, given the range of tasks that machines driven by artificial intelligence could perform. Biotechnology has been around for a couple of decades, without quite living up to its hype, but no country has a stronger tradition in medical technology than the UK, and could yet make some stunning breakthroughs.

Manufacturers of CBD products were rocked last month by the announcement that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had taken the the decision to classify products containing CBD as Medicines. While generally regarded as a positive move long-term, the decision to give manufacturers and retailers only 28 days to voluntarily comply had been met with dismay by the industry, who were expecting to have to cease trading on Friday 4th November.

The majority of respondents to a Pharmacy Business poll have said pharmacists should be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis.

Although the poll attracted just 69 responses, a resounding 60 or 87% said pharmacists should prescribe the drug, which has not been legalised by the UK government despite campaigning from healthcare professionals and MPs.

Last month the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform, chaired by Lady Meacher, called for cannabis to be legalised for medicinal use in the UK. Countries such as Holland, Germany, Spain and 25 US states have legalised access to medical cannabis.

Nine percent of respondents to the short poll said cannabis should not be legalised and 4% said they didn't know.

Police and crime commissioner Arfon Jones claims the use of cannabis is of 'considerable benefit' to sufferers of many illnesses.

A police boss is calling for cannabis to be legalised.

Arfon Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, wants the drug to be legal for medicinal purposes.

He says the use of cannabis, currently a class B controlled drug, is of “considerable benefit” to sufferers of many illnesses.

Mr Jones, a member of Plaid Cymru and a former superintendent in North Wales Police , has sent a letter to politicians across the region to try and judge support for the proposal. 

British Sugar will be swapping tomato plants for cannabis seedlings after signing a long-term contract to supply the crop to drugs company GW Pharmaceuticals.

The marijuana plants, which are of a non-psychoactive variety, will be grown in British Sugar’s 18-hectare glasshouse in Wissington, Norfolk, where the company, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, is currently cultivating tomatoes. The space is the equivalent of 23 football pitches.

“Every year we try to work out the best commercial assets for the glasshouse,” said Paul Kenward, managing director of British Sugar.

A small group of students, one of whom held a Liberal Democrat flag, were gathered outside the Rosa Parks room in the Guild of Students at a few minutes to one on the 18th of October. Inside the room, about sixty students (a number that seemed to pleasantly surprise the organisers) were gathering to hear their guest speaker talk.

The former Minister entered after a few minutes, armed with no script but a cup of Costa coffee.

If you suffer from insomnia, anxiety or some sort of continuous pain, then you’ve probably tried self-medicating loads of times.

Alcohol. Pain killers. Sleeping tablets.

They might all work for a while but, once the effect has worn off, you’re back to square one – uncomfortable, tired and stressed.

But you can now get a 100% organic hemp milk which promises to sooth anxieties and pains, aid sleep and reduce stress – via CBD (cannabidiol) oil.

Relax, by Rawligion, contains hemp seeds, cashews, dates, coconut oil, vanilla, water and CBD oil – and that’s it.

UK biotech firm is close to achieving approval for a new drug to treat childhood epilepsy

A UK drug company specialising in cannabis-based medicines has ditched its stock market listing in London in favour of trading exclusively on New York’s Nasdaq, but claims it will keep its headquarters in Cambridge.

GW Pharmaceuticals, one of the UK’s most promising biotech firms, is close to achieving approval for a new drug to treat Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy. 

In the latest instalment of "peculiar ways to win the drug war", police officers in Camden have handed letters to shops around Camden Lock ordering them to stop selling drug-related paraphernalia, or be faced with raids. That's right: selling that gas-mask bong your sixth form boyfriend lusted after could now actually land you in court.

Activists at the SNP conference have overwhelmingly backed a motion in favour of the decriminalisation of cannabis for medical use.

Delegates at the party's national conference in Glasgow have urged the UK Government to devolve powers to Holyrood to make the drug legal.

They made the call after hearing from multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferer Laura Brennan-Whitefield, who called on the party to show "compassion and common sense".

She said: "I'm not advocating the smoking of cannabis, what I'm advocating is a progressive and reasonable, compassionate society where you can access pain relief."