On 24th June 2015, a Daily Mail headline screamed:

Medicinal cannabis DOESN’T ease pain, nausea, vomiting,

MS muscle contractions, sleep disorders or Tourette’s

In fact the study reported on, from the University of Bristol, found exactly the opposite.  It showed that medicinal cannabis DOES ease pain, nausea, vomiting and the other conditions referred to.

The exact words of the study’s conclusion were:

DRUGS squad cops are raiding three cannabis farms every day in Glasgow, the Evening Times can reveal.

Thousands of plants - with a street value of more than £1.2million - have been seized by city detectives in the last three months.

We can today reveal police have identified and raided 65 cannabis cultivations across Glasgow since April.

And one drug-busting detectives warned the organised crime gangs behind these operations have infiltrated all communities, from the city centre to city suburbs.

"It could be the house next door or the flat across the flat, they are everywhere.Detective Inspector Alistair Anderson told the Evening Times: "These cultivations can be set up anywhere.

The judge told the court that they cannot sit back and let 'lkaw and order break down'

Criminals who raid cannabis farms were warned to expect tough jail sentences by a Crown Court judge.

Neighbours were startled when they saw a gang bursting into a home on a housing estate at Cotgrave in April.

Clayton Peters was caught red-handed in a car carrying £20,000 worth of the drug.

Judge Sean Rafferty QC imposed a five-year prison term on the 24-year-old, of Byron Avenue, Alfreton, who helped to plan the robbery.

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Two years custody were ordered for Andrew Thompson, 29, of Lilac Grove, South Normanton – another of the planners.

POLICE on an operation looking for stolen goods found more than they bargained for when they opened the back of a lorry — a cannabis farm.

The trailer had been fitted with lights, ventilation and insulation, and contained around 30 plants.

The discovery was made by officers from the Neath local police team when they executed search warrants in and around Glynneath.

As well as the cannabis factory on wheels — which was found on Manor Drive, Aberpergwm — officers seized a number of suspected stolen vehicles, equipment and plant.

Three police forces have acknowledged that growing and using cannabis is no longer to be treated as a priority crime.

While cannabis remains a Class B drug in the UK, police chiefs including Durham’s Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg, say they will not actively pursue those growing or using leaves for personal, recreational use.

And Alan Charles, Derbyshire's PCC, told the Daily Mail: "When we are faced with significant budget cuts we cannot keep turning out to every single thing reported to us."

Cuts, cannabis and clicktivism

As a government online petition takes off and austerity forces police to rethink their approach, is the UK drug debate finally catching up with the rest of the world? And could legalisation be in sight?

Drug and alcohol addicts could lose their sickness benefits if they refuse treatment under a review now under way.

Medical expert Dame Carol Black is to examine the support given to addicts - and obese people - on sickness benefits to "better support them in work".

David Cameron, who ordered the review, says there is currently no requirement for such groups to undertake treatment and suggested that this could change.

But one Tory MP said it was "ethically unacceptable" to coerce people.

The idea of requiring drug users to seek treatment or lose their benefits was first suggested by the last Labour government although it was not adopted following a consultation.

Cannabis is going global fast – Italy’s Parliament just voted for a legalized, regulated cannabis market, Denmark’s youth is consuming cannabis in droves but it’s no gateway, and the United Kingdom just reached a record high number of supporters for legalization in the isles. On this side of the pond, United States lawmakers are thinking ahead and making plans that could change the game completely. We’ve got the latest in cannabis legalization efforts:

U.S. Cannabis Updates

NATIONWIDE

More and more Americans are supporting marijuana legalization — and it's a fight that is picking up steam around the world.

And now, it looks like the UK and Australia could join the growing list of countries loosening the grip on marijuana use.

So what brought marijuana legalization to the front of the debate in both of these countries? Here's a closer look: 

United Kingdom

In the UK, a petition to legalize the use, sale and production of marijuana has gathered nearly 160,000 signatures in just five days.

At a meeting of the CLEAR Executive Committee held over the weekend of 18th/19th July 2015, Peter Reynolds tendered his resignation as leader.  He was first elected as leader in February 2011, won a confidence vote in April 2012 and was re-elected unopposed in February 2014.

Roland-Gyallay-Pap has been appointed acting leader and preparations will now begin for a leadership election.

Roland Gyallay-Pap said:

"I would like to extend a big thank you to Peter for the tireless work he has put in over the past four years. It is through his professionalism and tenacity that CLEAR is where it is now.