Cannabis use in the U.K. has almost halved over the past decade, even as marijuana use among 15- to 34-year-olds has grown throughout most of the Europe, according to the annual report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction released Thursday. As Brits are increasingly turning down pot, nations across Europe and states in the United States have begun decriminalizing marijuana-related offenses and use of the drug.

IN 2000 a report published by Europe’s drug agency (EMCDDA) found that Britain had an unusually large number of young cannabis users: they “topped the EU league”, as one British paper spun it. This year’s report, published on June 4th, showed that in the past 15 years the tables have turned. While the number of 15- to 34-year-olds using pot has risen or held steady in most countries, in England and Wales it has almost halved (see chart). Why?

London’s latest pop-up has high ideas, says Ben Norum

London loves a novelty pop-up but its latest marks a new high. Literally.

The rather excellently named Cannabistro will launch in a park near Peckham at the end of the month, serving a menu themed around getting high on weed.

It’s less sketchy than it first sounds, though. It’s a collaboration between catering company Grub London (grublondon.co.uk) and supperclub booking site Grub Club (grubclub.com), there are no joints involved, it’s entirely legal and the venue is an ornate former Victorian library in Burgess Park.

The ‘war on drugs’ does not work, as Cameron himself once said. The latest crackdown on legal highs such as poppers is madness

he arrival of the UK’s Psychoactive Substances Bill confirms that the war on drugs won’t be stopping anytime soon. Following the official clamour for legalisation of some soft drugs a few years ago, the Tories’ new, hastily drafted bill seeks to extend the reach of prohibition even further. While the new measures, cracking down on so-called psychoactive substances, were little more than an aside in last week’s Queen’s Speech, they represent some of the most authoritarian and overzealous restrictions on drug-use in recent memory.

Disruptive businesses make the headlines, but they also face real risks. Why you need to tread carefully around the law

Years ago, I worked as a waitress at a popular independent brew pub with an origin story that was the stuff of local legend. The proprietor had bought a heritage building, outfitted it with expensive brewing equipment and hired a full-time brewmaster to develop premium ales and lagers. He had just one problem: It wasn’t yet legal for an establishment in Ontario to produce and sell its own beer on-site. He started the business anyway, shilling sandwiches and sodas until the law changed and allowed the pub to sell the suds that have made it a prosperous business for nearly 30 years.

Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb wants to see a world where services like the NHS are boosted by a 'cannabis tax' instead of drug gangs hoarding the cash

A Lib Dem leadership contender has declared he wants to legalise cannabis and tax it to fund services like the NHS.

Norman Lamb says the war on drugs has 'failed' and it's time to stop pouring billions into the pockets of violent criminal gangs.

His dramatic pledge shows just how much the Lib Dems are distancing themselves after Coalition from the Tories - whose new legal highs bill will ban almost everything.

In response to rapidly changing cultural and legal contexts, researchers from the University of Montreal and the Sainte-Justine University Hospital have discovered a way to prevent, reduce or delay the use of cannabis among young people at risk.

Cannabis users are exposed to neurocognitive deficits, lower educational and professional success, to road accidents, psychiatric symptoms and exacerbated the outbreak of psychosis. Teenagers are especially at risk because their brains are developing.

A few days after the draft psychoactive substances bill was published, its full ramifications are still becoming clear. It is one of the weirdest pieces of law ever proposed by a British government. And at a stroke, it seems to criminalise the majority of households in the UK.

I've written the following using accepted common definitions of the phrases involved, a close reading of the key passages of the draft bill and a little bit of logic. Anyone who can see how these items aren't criminalised using a strict reading of the bill is very welcome to let me know. We're all in uncharted legislative water here.

With summer just around the corner, many legislative sessions are nearing an end, but that doesn't mean the end for cannabis progress! This week brings surprising and heartwarming news from down on the bayou in Louisiana, while California’s discussing legalization, New York is gearing up to select growers for their medical program, and India just held their first ever medical cannabis conference.

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