There is little doubt in my mind that marijuana — cannabis, weed, pot, ganja, skunk, bud, herb, sticky icky, mota (in Mexico), le shit (in France), whatever you want to call it — is on the road to legalization. There are a lot of reasons for that. One of them is the changes taking place around the world.

As far as big societal shifts go, 2015 has been a remarkable year. One issue close to my heart that has seen changes unimaginable just a few years ago is global drug policy. I’ve long advocated for an end to the so-called war on drugs which continues to wreck millions of lives, causes untold suffering and has wasted trillions in taxpayer money. But I feel more confident than ever that this war will finally come to an end within the next generation.

An Australian anti-marijuana campaign that features an intoxicated sloth has drawn expert criticism and online mockery.

The Stoner Sloth campaign, financed by the New South Wales state government, aims to stop teens smoking marijuana.

The sloth character is shown as unable to cope with various social scenariosafter smoking the drug.

Australia's National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) criticised the campaign.

"[This] doesn't reflect NCPIC views on how cannabis harms campaigns should be approached", the organisation said in a statement..

A FORMER Scottish justice secretary has branded the so-called war on drugs a failure and called for a sweeping reform of laws governing the use and possession of illegal substances.

Kenny MacAskill is by far the most senior British politician to back decriminalisation and said Scotland should to get the power to introduce the kind of liberal drug legislation currently being implemented in other countries.

Speaking in a personal rather than party capacity, Mr MacAskill said: "My view is that we should look to treat drugs as a public health problem rather than a law and order one.

"We should stop locking up young people and the, frankly, the poor.

"This is the direction of travel all over the world in countries like the United States and Portugal.

Could This Be A Breakthrough In The UK Campaign For Medicinal Cannabis?

Cannabis used as medicine has appeared before in UK soaps but the news is that this Coronation Street storyline could be less jokey and trivial and actually deal in science and truth.  If so it could be a major breakthrough against an intransigent government that flatly refuses even to consider the evidence.

Israeli scientist Dr. Raphael Mechoulam established modern cannabis research almost single-handedly, first when he elucidated the structure of CBD in 1963 and then again in 1964 when he isolated and described THC. After a career in organic chemistry spanning 50 years and with numerous other important discoveries into the nature of marijuana under his belt, the father of pot research opened up to Cannabis Now about the past, present and possible future of medicine.

Recently, a study published by King’s College, London caused a media frenzy as it associated heavy use of potent cannabis with structural changes to the brain, most notably a decline in the quantity and integrity of the white matter.

As is so often the case with such studies, certain media outlets immediately leapt to wild  assumptions that cannabis was to blame for this perceived difference in brain structure, and that policy changes needed to be immediately made to reflect this. But is this truly the case?

Again, as so often occurs with these studies, when we look a little deeper into what is said in the text, we find that there is a lot more to the story than these simplistic media articles would have you believe.

‘Coronation Street’ bosses are planning to air a new drugs storyline in February, according to reports.

Sources have revealed that Izzy Armstrong will be seen turning to cannabis, when her medication fails to provide suitable pain relief.

It’s believed that Izzy will confide in Erica about her difficulties, and Claire King’s character will then suggest that she tries smoking marijuana, before adding that she knows where to purchase some.

But so far, there isn’t much in the way of investment opportunities.

Earlier this month Bank of America Merrill Lynch put out a research report on the marijuana industry’s prospects. Touted as the first such assessment by a major financial institution, the report is a milestone in a fast-growing sector that is hungry for mainstream recognition and the money that comes with it. But a close reading of the report makes clear that marijuana has a long way to go before it resembles a normal American industry.

RELAXING laws on minor drugs offences would allow courts to spend more time on the prosecution of higher-level crimes according to a Dorking barrister.

Rio Pahlavanpour, who lives in Dorking and prosecutes cases at Redhill Magistrates' Court, believes more progressive drugs laws would give courts the time to focus on more serious cases such as domestic violence.

Mr Pahlavanpour suggests that following the example set by many US states and has put his concerns in a letter to Mole Valley MP Sir Paul Beresford.

Recreational use of cannabis is legal in four US states and medical use in 23 states.