Decriminalizing drugs in Brazil would be a step forward for human rights, but the country still has to contend with its police.

Brazil’s Supreme Court justices are steadily issuing their votes in a seminal case that could determine whether or not the country will decriminalize the personal possession of drugs. Three of the 11 justices have voted in favor of decriminalization—two just for marijuana, one for all drugs—while a fourth last week gave himself more time to decide. Six votes are needed for decriminalization to succeed.

A flight over Mendocino County puts California's drought into stark perspective. You soar over arid hills, browning trees and bone-dry riverbeds. As the state continues to battle the drought and its effects, its leaders are considering every possible means to cut water usage, but there's an obvious culprit that could merit a closer look: marijuana. Fully legalizing marijuana production for all uses — rather than only permitting people to grow up to six plants for private medical use — would allow the state to regulate the drug more closely, and that would include a serious crackdown on water usage.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities said Wednesday they have destroyed almost all of the marijuana planted in the country, a major European producer of the plant.

Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri said Wednesday that 99.2 percent, or 690,000 cannabis plants in 44 hectares (109 acres) identified on aerial maps, have been destroyed so far this year.

Last year, police destroyed about 550,000 cannabis plants and 102 tons of marijuana with an estimated market value at the time of 7 billion euros ($8.5 billion) — more than two-thirds of the country's annual gross domestic product.

The Opinionated Man is proud to stand up for marijuana legalization in the UK. The uk government and the media should be ashamed of themselves for the lies, brainwashing and legislation responsible for cannabis to be known as an illegal substance. Every effort you see on this website is to spread the truth regarding marijuana and is in the interests of the people who love this plant and for the people who suffer from many illnesses and conditions that are treatable with the use of medical marijuana.

Members of Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis have developed a questionnaire that they plan to deliver to presidential candidates

DES MOINES — Advocates for legalized medical cannabis use in Iowa are taking their cause to the 2016 presidential race.

The advocacy group Iowans 4 Medical Cannabis announced Tuesday it has developed a questionnaire that it plans to deliver to all the presidential candidates in the coming weeks.

The group already has made efforts to reach out to the campaigns and the candidates themselves during their visits to Iowa.

At first glance, Club Tropicana does not look like the epicentre of Aberdeen's drug scene. The retro music venue attracts a mixed crowd every Friday and Saturday, which dances to Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, overlooked by portraits of Del Boy and David Hasselhoff.

But on a Friday evening in late August this year, six police officers arrived at the club. They came with a sniffer dog, a CCTV van and an "itemiser", which tests hand swabs for traces of illegal drugs. They also returned the following evening, testing around 100 people over the weekend. As it turns out, Club Tropicana is almost certainly not the epicentre of Aberdeen's drugs scene. According to the venue, the police failed to record a single positive reading over the course of the two nights.

 knocked out by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday, when he was given a five-year suspension for a positive marijuana test following his January bout with Anderson Silva.

Diaz, 32, was flagged for marijuana for the third time in his career. In addition to the five-year ban, he was ordered to pay a fine equal to 33 percent of his $500,000 purse for the UFC 183 headliner, a penalty that amounted to $165,000.

Four police officers have been charged with aiding a suspected drug trafficker's escape from Makupa police station, Mombasa county, last Sunday.

Justus Sangalo, Ahmed Saney, David Koskey and Joseph Machoy denied the charges and were released on Sh20,000 bond each on Tuesday.

Richard Maranga had been arrested in Majengo last Friday, with drugs including 67 sachets of heroin and 50g of bhang.

County commissioner Nelson Marwa said he was on his way to distribute the drugs when he was nabbed by residents and taken to the police station

Marwa had issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the suspect's arrest, and for action against the officers who helped him escape.

The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA) is not against medicinal dagga‚ does confess “to having major concerns surrounding the way the issue has been handled to date”.

In a statement on Tuesday‚ the CYPSA warned that “usual best practices should under no circumstances be ‘fast tracked’ or findings ignored due to public pressure and demand” before it could be registered with the Medicines Control Council.

“This is an issue that is firmly rooted in the realm of science‚ and the safety and suitability of cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal use is one that can be decided by scientific means alone‚” the CYPSA said.

The organisation said it is concerned that some see the Medical Innovation bill as a “Trojan horse”.

She says smoking doesn't violate her probation because of her “sincerely held” religious beliefs. 

A Golden Valley woman is asking the courts to allow her to smoke marijuana for religious reasons — because she belongs to the First Church of Cannabis.

Through her lawyer, 31-year-old Ashley Firnschild is arguing to the Hennepin County District Court that the weed’s illegality places an “undue burden” on her “sincerely held” religious beliefs as a member of the Indiana-based church established earlier this year. The case is coming before the court because Firnschild is alleged to have smoked the weed in violation of a condition of her probation for a drug charge.