Campaigners are joyous after Parliament was pushed into the move by a 210,000-strong petition on its own website

MPs will hold a full debate on whether Britain should legalise cannabis, sell it in shops and tax it to fund the NHS.

Campaigners are joyous after Parliament was pushed into the move by a 210,000-strong petition on its own website.

Today the petition became one of two to have a formal date set for its debate - the other is a bid to sack Jeremy Hunt.

It will be discussed in Westminster Hall, the second-biggest Commons venue after the chamber itself, on October 12.

New survey results from Gartner Inc. show a widening gap forming between organizations already undertaking digital business initiatives and those only in the planning stage, demonstrating a clear need to invest in digital business.

Findings from the 2015 Digital Business Survey, released last week, reflect input received by Gartner, which fielded 304 surveys in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia this past May and June, notes a statement from the information technology research and advisory company.

MPs will debate whether the sale, production and use of cannabis should be legalized after a petition demanding a shift in the law attracted over 200,000 signatures.

The debate will be led by Labour MP for Newport West Paul Flynn, who strongly advocates the reform of Britain’s cannabis law. It will take place in Westminster Hall and is scheduled for October 12. 

Flynn has campaigned for the reform of UK cannabis law since 1990. In 2011, he presided over the launch of a report examining how cannabis could better be regulated, which was published by Britain’s pro-reform group Clear UK.

It claims to help with everything from cancer to depression

Last week I received a vaporiser in the post, weed leaf proudly emblazoned on the front.

This wasn’t a dark web deal though, but a legit product that’s designed as a ‘completely legal and harm free way to unleash the miraculous health benefits of cannabis’.

It is not often that you get a billionaire, a minister of state and a priest at the same table discussing cannabis decriminalization, but then Ireland has its own, very particular way of doing things. The country has a cannabis culture that is buried deep below the surface. Alcohol is embraced with abandonment but cannabis production and sale is controlled by criminal gangs. This has not helped bring the subject to public attention, especially as a drugs turf war rages in some parts of the country. Last Friday evening, an event by CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign was organized.

By ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D.

Two-legged or four-legged, some guinea pigs have more fun than others.

Among the human variety, Dr. John Clendinning and Dr. David Casarett might be considered particularly fortunate. Back in 1843 Dr. Clendinning, a London physician and bad insomniac, reported on his personal experiences with various sleep-inducing substances. The clear winner was a tincture of marijuana, which brought him a good night’s sleep with none of what he termed opium’s “inconveniences.”

NEW fears for civil liberties as officers swab hands of young people for traces of illegal substances.

POLICE are again accused of trampling over civil liberties after surprising ­clubbers with snap drug tests, we can reveal.

Customers queuing outside clubs have been approached by officers who swab their hands for traces of illegal ­substances.

Those who don’t co-operate are refused entry while those who test positive are questioned and face being searched and arrested.

Politicians and licensed trade bosses yesterday criticised the tactic as heavy-handed and a breach of young people’s rights.

When I was still a serving police officer, I would often find myself debating drug law reform with colleagues. Sometimes I would find others who were similarly disillusioned, others I would manage to convince of the Drug War’s true costs.  Much of the time it was frustrating and pointless, as the belief structures of individuals prevented rational debate. Those that agreed, and those that disagreed generally had something in common; the feeling that their own beliefs did not matter. The general view is that Policy is for the law makers, not the law enforcers. So why are the views of the police now so relevant to the debate, and should the police have more involvement?

The latest trials of cannabis in the treatment of children with epilepsy suggest a pure form of the drug may be of benefit. But Professor Helen Cross of Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, stressed that the benefit may be no greater than that of one of the new, standard anti-epileptic drugs.

Speaking at the 31st International Epilepsy Congress in Istanbul, she said there was a lot of interest in the use of cannabis in treating seizures but that more tests were needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug. ‘We have to be particularly concerned about the effects of the drug on the developing brain in children,’ she said.