Sure the Conservatives won the General Election, but they were beaten by a pro-cannabis party in a few choice constituencies

Many Brits will have come across the Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (CISTA) party for the first time when they looked at their ballot paper on Thursday. Others will still probably never have heard of this niche party.

But though they're small and - yes - focused on one single issue, they notched up a couple of triumphs in the 2015 General Election.

The Cannabis party beat the BNP

This party beat the British National Party in terms of votes, this year.

A few years back there were serious concerns that the BNP could win seats and thus change British politics forever.

Yet now the party is all but destroyed.

Washington, DC: Members of the US House of Representativesnarrowly defeated a proposed amendment that sought to allow veterans greater access to cannabis therapy.

House members rejected the amendment by a vote of 210 to 213. One hundred and seventy-five Democrats voted for the measure, while eight voted against it. Thirty-five Republicans voted for the amendment, while 205 voted against it.

A similar measure was defeated in 2014 by a vote of 195 to 222.

Several industries have become notorious for the millions they spend on influencing legislation and getting friendly candidates into office: Big Oil, Big Pharma and the gun lobby among them. But one has managed to quickly build influence with comparatively little scrutiny: Private prisons. The two largest for-profit prison companies in the United States – GEO andCorrections Corporation of America – and their associates have funneled more than $10 million to candidates since 1989 and have spent nearly $25 million on lobbying efforts.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Jackie Chan was named Singapore's first celebrity anti-drug ambassador on Thursday and the kung fu movie star sought to warn the city state's youth off illegal substances as he spoke of his son's drug crimes.

The Hong Kong actor's son, Jaycee Chan, was released from a Chinese jail in February after serving a six-month sentence on drugs charges.

He had been formally charged last year with "the crime of sheltering others to take drugs" after testing positive for marijuana and police saying they had found 100 grams of the drug at his Beijing home.

Ecuadorian lawmakers have proposed a historic piece of legislation that would decriminalize all illegal drugs.

Last month, Carlos Velasco, who manaages the Ecuador congressional Commission of the Right to Health, submitted the Organic Law on Comprehensive Drug Prevention bill that would end criminal penalties currently associated with the possession and use of illegal substances, while establishing a system that provides prevention and rehabilitation programs instead.

“Treating the drug phenomenon in a repressive way – as was done in the 1980s and 1990s when prison was the only destination for the drug consumer – is absurd,” noted Velasco.

Texas is one of the most conservative states in the nation. But in a part of the country where people joke about Willie Nelson's passion for pot, public attitudes toward legalizing marijuana are dramatically changing.(Photo: KHOU)

Inside an old restaurant a short walk from Allen's Landing, the birthplace of Houston, the Pachyderm Club holds its luncheons.

The group is staunchly Republican, mostly older and Anglo, but with a few younger Asians and Hispanics in the mix. It could easily be mistaken for a small Rotary Club except for the prevalence of elephant lapel pins.

But the most surprising thing about the crowd is another kind of pin, worn by a few of the Pachyderm Club members. "RAMP" is the message, an acronym for Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.

When the RCMP searched a Charlottetown home last month they found a drug that’s new to P.E.I. It’s called budder and is a concentrated form of cannabis resin.

RCMP Const. Scott Mintie said it’s something the police are starting to hear about in P.E.I.

“It’s a concern, just because of the potency of it,” he said.

Budder is produced by grinding marijuana and extracting tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from it using a solvent. The finished product is a brown paste.

The RCMP estimate the street value of dry marijuana at around $10-$15 for one gram while budder would sell for about $80-$100 per gram.

Mintie said there are also safety concerns about the use of solvents to make budder.

MEXICO CITY — Britain’s top two politicians try to avoid talking about drugs. It tends to embarrass them.

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron is sometimes reminded he got caught smoking pot when he was a student at Eton — the country’s most elite private school — and was "gated" (grounded) for about a week. He now supports marijuana prohibition. 

Labour leader Ed Miliband says he was too “square” to take drugs, but has read a lot about them, also leading to a prohibitionist stance. Yet when it comes to debating the issue, he shows he maybe hasn’t read enough.

During one recent televised debate, a young voter confronts and apparently schools Miliband over cannabis issues.

The Government has announced the members of the Cannabis Licensing Authority, to be chaired by Dr Andre Gordon.

Dr Gordon is a food technologist and a former president of the Jamaica Exporters' Association.

Minister with Responsibility for Information, Senator Sandrea Falconer, announced at this morning's post-Cabinet press briefing that the Cabinet has approved the board to comprise 18 people. 

Minister with Responsibility for Information, Senator Sandrea Falconer

The Cannabis Licensing Authority was established under the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015 to regulate the hemp and medicinal ganja industry in Jamaica.

This year, for Mother’s Day, sign up in support of the “Moms United to End the War on Drugs Bill of Rights,” created by Moms United to End the War on Drugs. Do so in honor of your mother, or your children if you are a mother, or the countless mothers whose families have been impacted by the War on Drugs if you don’t know or have a relationship with your mother.