When the EU stands together, we are a powerful union with real clout that is listened to around the globe

On 19th April next year, the countries of the United Nations will meet in special session in New York to debate the future of global drugs policy. The starting gun on government negotiations for the summit was fired last week at a meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.

Imports of synthetic cannabis have been rising since the Psychoactive Substances Amendment Act took the products off shop shelves last year.

The drug - along with the likes of meth, ecstasy, and Alpha PVP, which is also known as bath salts or flakka - were being found in mailed packages at the country's border.

Customs cargo operations manager Bruce Berry said people try to fly under the radar by going online to order small quantities from overseas.

"What we're seeing is a steady supply of smaller quantities of products in the domain. We're certainly seeing synthetic cannabinoids, we're seeing psychoactive substances, but we're also seeing the mimics there in the same space," he said.

Scientists believe that the law is dangerous because it can cause physical and mental damage in people who consume cannabis and cause violence in the country

The National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine of Costa Rica asked the Legal Committee (Subject No. 19256 file), for a law related to research, regulation and control of cannabis and cannabis for medicinal use, industrial and food.

The representative of the National Academy of Sciences, Daniel Pizarro Torres said there are not enough scientific studies proving significant results of cannabis. For that reason, it is not considered advisable to approve any project on the topic. 

If you follow marijuana politics, then you know that Ohio has a marijuana legalization initiative that will be on the ballot in 2015. The initiative has drawn a lot of controversy because it only allows ten entities to grow recreational marijuana for profit in Ohio. The ten entities that get to grow marijuana for profit are the only ones funding the initiative as far as I know. So who are these ten entities? Below is a list of who will be able to grow marijuana for profit if the initiative passes, via Marijuana Business Daily:

• Licking County site – Dr. Suresh Gupta and Alan Mooney, principal of Mooney Wealth Advisory.

Recreational marijuana has been legal throughout Oregon for a few months now. While residents could use it, purchasing from a store hasn’t been possible.

That’s because retail sales of recreational cannabis have remained illegal. That ends Thursday, when the state will begin allowing recreational sales at medical marijuana dispensaries.

According to the OLCC, the state currently projects $10.7 million in revenue for the 2015-2017 biennium.

Here’s everything you need to know about purchasing pot for recreational use in Oregon.

What is changing Oct. 1?

An elected Liberal government would begin working to legalize and regulate marijuana "right away," Justin Trudeau says.

"The Liberal Party is committed to legalizing and regulating marijuana," Trudeau said, in response to a reporter's question in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday.

The Liberal Party Leader declined to set a firm timeline for legalization, but vowed to make it an early priority if elected on Oct. 19.

He said legalizing marijuana would fix a "failed system" and help "remove the criminal element" linked to the drug.

Trudeau went on to accuse Conservative Leader Stephen Harper of implementing anti-marijuana policies that allow the drug to fund "criminal organizations, street gangs and gun-runners."

A New York State Republican assemblyman who opposed medical marijuana legislation at every turn was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The police found the marijuana after they pulled him over for speeding.

A statement released shortly after the March 2013 incident, law enforcement officials reported that state police discovered Steve Katz had a “small bag” of marijuana on him.

A few years ago, with cannabis legalization supposedly around the corner, San Francisco city government tried to engage the local marijuana industry — then more commonly referred to as the medical cannabis "movement." 

A city supervisor created a 15-member "task force" for marijuana, one of dozens of task forces and commissions in San Francisco, and stocked it with dispensary owners, growers, and "patient advocates." 

An elected Liberal government would begin working to legalize and regulate marijuana "right away," Justin Trudeau says.

"The Liberal Party is committed to legalizing and regulating marijuana," Trudeau said, in response to a reporter's question in Surrey, B.C., on Wednesday.

The Liberal Party Leader declined to set a firm timeline for legalization, but vowed to make it an early priority if elected on Oct. 19.

He said legalizing marijuana would fix a "failed system" and help "remove the criminal element" linked to the drug.