In a shock move that many have described as cannabis pseudo-decriminalisation, Durham Police have announced that they will only prosecute individuals possessing or growing the class-B drug if they are ‘blatant’.

The policy has come soon after comments by the force’s Chief Constable, Mike Barton, who argued that investigating drug users is a “waste of police time”.

He believes that hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine should be decriminalised. His reasoning being that if the trade was regulated the users could get their supply through the NHS thus eliminating the need for them to get involved in criminality.

Any Italian will tell you: pasta is healthy and makes you feel good. But what about spaghetti made from cannabis?

Farmers from southern Italy presenting their wares at a London food festival this week say their hemp pasta, oil and bread won't get you high, but do provide a healthy, tasty alternative to the traditional, wheat variety.

"Hemp food is truly organic," said Marzio Ilario Fiore, 30, whose farm in the Molise region produces hemp oil and flour. "Hemp requires no pesticides, no fertilizers, and only moderate amounts of water." Cannabis is most often associated with the psychoactive effects of marijuana, but some strains of the plant can also be cultivated for food.

The Home Affairs Committee conducts a short inquiry into ‘psychoactive substances’.

Following plans announced in the Queen’s Speech to ban a new generation of psychoactive drugs, the Home Affairs Committee will hold a short inquiry into the new laws. The inquiry will look at: 

A CANNABIS dealer who gave up the drug for Ramadan has brought shame on this family, a court has heard.

Police were originally called to Notts Gardens in Uplands, Swansea, following reports of an altercation involving Moumin Ali and another man.

When officers arrived they found 24-year-old Ali in the passenger seat of a car with his dad at the wheel — and a strong smell cannabis in the air.

Swansea Crown Court heard a search found cannabis in Ali's pocket and under the car seat he had been sitting in. A subsequent search of the family home on Notts Garden found another 29 grams of the drug in a carrier bag.

A crime tsar who stopped prosecuting small-scale cannabis growers has been accused of ‘abusing his position’ after pictures emerged of him with pro-legalisation campaigners.

Ron Hogg, the police and crime commissioner for County Durham, sparked a furious backlash as he last night admitted letting off cannabis users with a warning or caution, ‘almost one a day’.

The 63-year-old announced on Tuesday that his force was ‘not prioritising people who have a small number of cannabis plants for their own use’ and they would ‘most likely’ receive a caution.

Mr Hogg, the former deputy chief constable of Durham Police, says he believes small-scale users should be offered help to recover, and he supports legalisation of the drug for medical purposes.

Durham Police Chief Commissioner says his force is no longer targeting small-scale farmers of the drug – are we edging closer to legalisation?

One maverick police commissioner is leading a charge against the prosecution of people who grow and smoke weed at home. Durham PCC Ron Hogg says that his force will no longer be going after "users and small-scale growers" and wants to see people arrested only if they’re being blatant about production.

A police chief in the North East of England has effectively given weed smokers the go-ahead to grow plants for their own use. Ron Hogg, Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner, says that local cannabis users will only be targeted if they grow for commercial gain or if they smoke it in a "blatant" way.

Durham Police has said it will only go after people growing and using cannabis if there is a complaint - or if they are being 'blatant'

Cleveland Police will continue to “operate within the law as it exists” when it comes to dealing with drug crime - despite plans by a neighbouring force to stop actively pursuing low-key cannabis users.

Ex-deputy chief constable of Cleveland - and current Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Durham - Ron Hogg wants to see users of the class B drug in County Durham and Darlington entered onto a course.

He views that as a means of dealing with their habit rather than being arrested.

The Labour PCC's comments have since sparked a major debate on the issue - which is being seen as a step towards decriminalisation.