Marijuana is now used by cancer patients in some countries to ease the pain of their illness - but it might actually offer a cure.

Guillermo Velasco of the Complutense University of Madrid says there is evidence that cannabinoids - chemicals in cannabis - actually reduced tumour growth in animals.

But he says that there is little interest from pharmaceutical companies.

Velasco told Upworthy,, ‘One of the reasons why [it] is so complicated to promote clinical studies is that the active components of marijuana are natural products that cannot be patented and therefore there are few pharma companies interested in their clinical development.’

Some cannabis users caught by police may not be prosecuted and will receive an on-the-spot recorded warning instead.

Police Scotland will introduce the system in January to deal with low-level crimes.

At the moment, such crimes are normally reported by police to prosecutors and do not end up in court.

The majority of those caught with cannabis, and perpetrators of serious crime, would be dealt with as before.

The recorded police warning is a revision of the formal adult warning scheme and would be issued by individual officers.

Officers will determine if a warning is appropriate, or if another course of action such as a fixed-penalty notice should be issued.

Last month we held Scottish Drugs Forum's annual general meeting and as part of the event we asked attenders, who represented a whole spectrum of stakeholders in the drugs field, whether there should be a debate on decriminalisation.

The overwhelming majority of that group agreed that there should. Recent procedural changes in Scottish policing are welcome and can help kickstart that debate.

This is part of a wider overhaul of how wider petty offending is handled by the police and, of course, will only affect the least serious incidents.

We are at a historic crossroads in terms of enforcement and the legislative framework around drugs. The need for open informed discussion and a clear vision is obvious.

PEOPLE caught with small quantities of cannabis will face on-the-spot warnings from police rather than prosecution.

The change in enforcing drug laws is part of a major overhaul of how officers handle petty offending to free up police and prosecutors’ time.

Scottish officers will next month start issuing new "Recorded Police Warnings" to many of the tens of thousands of people a year found committing minor offences such as carrying cannabis, urinating in the street or petty shoplifting.

The Royal Navy has fished £1 million worth of cannabis out of the Mediterranean after packages of the drug were dumped by smugglers.

HMS St Albans, a warship based at Portsmouth, was carrying out a routine security patrol when it discovered the traffickers travelling in a small boat.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "HMS St Albans spotted a small boat acting suspiciously and so launched her Merlin helicopter, this spooked the small boat crew who then tossed several large packages into the water before speeding off into the dusk.

"The frigate then sent one of her sea boats to investigate the packages which later turned out to be approximately 320kg of cannabis resin."

John Lennon died tragically 35 years ago today, leaving behind an enduring legacy as a singer, songwriter and political activist. Although most famous for promoting peace during the Vietnam War, Lennon was also an outspoken cannabis consumer and activist.

Dr Rachel Farrell, consultant at UCLH's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, is leading the innovative trial

A trial has started at UCLH of a treatment that mimics the properties of cannabis to help reduce spasticity associated with MS.

One of the most common and disabling symptoms of MS, spasticity affects up to 80 per cent of patients, causing muscle stiffness, spasms and reduced mobility. 

Many people with MS use cannabis medically to alleviate symptoms, but often suffer unwanted side effects like lethargy. Current treatments derived from cannabis are only moderately effective in reducing symptoms and also leave patients feeling fatigued and sedated. 

Pharmaceuticals firm hopes to get positive results from key trials next year, paving the way for the regulatory green light

GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes drugs derived from the cannabis plant, is scaling up its manufacturing capacity ahead of an expected approval of a new treatment for children with life-threatening epilepsy.

GW Pharmaceuticals plc (GWPH) is a pharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform. GWPH commercialized the world's first plant-derived cannabinoid prescription drug, Sativex, which is approved for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis in 27 countries outside the United States.

GWPH has an extensive product pipeline which should enable to the company to be a major player for years to come. GWPH recently reported data pertaining to its Epidiolex product and we expect 2016 to be a milestone year for the company. 

Favorable Data Presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s Annual Meeting