The first installment of Lord Ashcroft's unauthorised biography of David Camerongave the British press enough salacious gossip for a year, but in the mad rush to cover the most lurid aspects of his allegations, drugs campaigners claim a more radical aspect of the story has been overlooked.

FALMOUTH — The leader of a Colorado drug-prohibition enforcement program warned Mainers on Tuesday about the implications of recreational marijuana legalization, including increases in use among youth and problems with edible marijuana products.

Thomas Gorman, a former undercover drug agent and current director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, spoke at a forum in Falmouth about the impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado, marijuana commercialization, and public health and safety issues connected to legal pot use.

Yuri Soares is chief of development effectiveness at the Multilateral Investment Fund. He holds a PhD in economics from Michigan State University and a Master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Florida. He has worked in the United States and Brazil.

The NYPD and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) took down a massive New York City drug ring on Wednesday.

The drug ring was capable of producing thousands of packages of synthetic cannabinoids, a dangerous cocktail of chemicals sprayed onto plant material and meant to mimic the effects of a marijuana high.

The head of a marijuana dispensary raided in July says he hopes the related charges are resolved quickly, but he’s prepared to fight a lengthy court battle.

“We’ll go to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Aaron Bott said outside the courthouse Tuesday where a crowd of supporters stood nearby after his first appearance on a trafficking charge. “We’re a little bit confused on why we have to defend ourselves. We’re not criminals.”

In July, Bott was taken by surprise when officers from the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams showed up at 4121 118th Ave., the marijuana supplier his family has run for more than a decade.

In a decision hailed by civil rights advocates and supporters of marijuana legalization, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that police cannot stop motorists solely because they suspect the vehicle’s occupants are in possession of the drug.

The Supreme Judicial Court based its 5-2 ruling largely on a measure that voters approved in 2008 that reduced possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil violation punishable by a fine.

“Permitting police to stop a vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that an occupant possesses marijuana does not serve [the] objectives” of the law change, Justice Margot Botsford wrote for the majority.

Maybe it was too early for the legalization crowd.

Barely anyone showed up Tuesday for a 10 a.m. event outside the State House aimed at kicking off a signature drive for a proposed 2016 ballot question that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use.

Two of the three state legislators slated to attend the launch for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Massachusetts did not.

And, while political kickoffs in front of the golden-domed building are often packed with supporters, the crowd at this one — which included the ballot push’s campaign manager, communications director, and a few other backers — was sparse and far from fired up.

Demonstrator Colin Davies ripped open a mock paper 'joint' to reveal the gigantic weed plant after bringing it along to the demonstration

A cannabis campaigner displayed a six foot cannabis plant in Piccadilly Gardens in a bid to get the drug legalised for medicinal use.

Hundreds of people gathered in the gardens as protesters openly smoked the drug and spoke about its effects to the public on Saturday afternoon.

During the action one of the organisers, Colin Davies, ripped open a huge mock paper ‘joint’ to reveal the gigantic marijuana plant.

It is often reported that cannabis is legal, socially acceptable and widely available in the Democratic Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea). The country remains closed-off and secretive, although occasional reports trickle through from defectors or visitors. Reports vary as to how acceptable cannabis use truly is.