In the secretive way that now seems to be standard practice for the UK government, the justice minister, Andrew Selous MP, revealed yesterday, in an answer to a written Parliamentary Question, that he is “currently trialling ‘Liaison and Diversion’ services”.
 

“These services place health professionals at police stations and courts to assess suspects for a range of health problems, including drug misuse, and make referrals to treatment and support. Information shared with the criminal justice system can be used to inform decisions, supporting diversion into treatment as part of an alternative to charge or to custody where appropriate.

Researchers in Canada are to carry out a new study that will assess the potential benefits that medical cannabis can provide for arthritis patients.

Canada’s Arthritis Society is providing a three-year research grant to Dr Jason McDougall of Dalhousie University, a leading pain researcher, to investigate the drug’s impact on arthritis pain and disease management.

Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) will turn to cannabis next week when her usual pain medication proves ineffective after she dislocates her hip.

A fracas at the factory will leave Izzy injured and it's Erica (Claire King) who first notices her discomfort after spying her struggling to carry a roll of fabric.

At first, Izzy refuses to accept help, but will later admit to Erica she's in terrible pain and that her usual painkillers aren't working.

Erica then offers to get her some cannabis and, despite not being initially keen, Izzy will eventually come round to the idea. By Friday, Izzy and Erica are meeting furtively in the backyard of the Rovers, where Erica hands over a small package of cannabis. But will anyone clock them?

New research published today in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine confirms what many of us have suspected for some time: If you smoke a lot of weed — like a lot of it — it can potentially do permanent damage to your short-term memory.

Professor Reto Auer of the University of Lausanne led a team of researchers who examined data on the marijuana habits of nearly 3,400 Americans over a 25-year period. At the end of the study period, the subjects took a battery of tests designed to assess cognitive abilities — memory, focus, ability to make quick decisions, etc.

How do you warn people about the potentially serious risks of a recreational drug that many users think is harmless? This is the challenge now facing health officials hoping to inform and warn the public about an increasingly legal recreational drug.

A new study indicates lifetime use of marijuana is linked to poorer verbal memory at middle age, and its authors want to spread the word.

Police have long searched for a quick and effective way to test drivers for marijuana, and last week, the British company Oxtox published a study on a new disposable testfor high driving. The test's efficacy rate makes it a promising development for law enforcement and a formidable threat to avid smokers and medical marijuana patients.

Police found 200 cannabis plants after a neighbour called them out to a property because the front door was open.

The innocuous call was made to Coventry Police officers from a person living in Paynes Lane, Hillfields , at 11am on Friday.

When the resident had left their property their neighbour’s door was closed but when they returned it was open - and nobody was home.

Fearing that burglars may have targeted the home the neighbour dialled 101.

When police arrived they quickly realised that the property was actually being used to grow cannabis.

They found a total of 200 plants being grown inside - but the people responsible had fled.

One of the top cage fighters in Britain has been jailed for a year for running a series of cannabis farms with his in-laws. Karel "Karlos" Vemola, a title-holding mixed martial artist originally from the Czech Republic, was convicted alongside his former partner Sarah Sharp and her elderly parents at St Albans crown court.

The 30-year-old had convinced Linda Sharp, 70, and her partner Terrance Byman, 72, to invest in a business running at least three cannabis farms in Potters Bar and Bushey in Hertfordshire, the court heard. They had seen the venture as "an ideal way to top up their pensions".

Vemola, whose nickname in the ring is "the Terminator", had started using the drug to help with the pain he sustained from his fighting injuries, the court was told.

Psychoactive substances bill may lead to lack of clarity over whether or not suspects are breaking the law, says Durham PCC Ron Hogg

Police could face extra expense and confusion as a result of discrepancies in the laws banning the possession of drugs that will emerge once the psychoactive substances bill comes into force, a police and crime commissioner has warned.

Ron Hogg, police and crime commissioner for Durham, said he found it bizarre that the new law to ban the trade in any substances that have a psychoactive effect will not also make possession an offence, and that this could cause problems for investigating officers.

Sketch about differences in advertising to men and women. From "That Mitchell and Webb Look" from the BBC about TV Advertising. From Season 3 Episode 2.