Heroin is in decline, but cannabis and "new drugs" pose Europe's biggest drugs challenge. Wolfgang Götz, director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction on the agencies latest report.

Wolfgang Götz: Over the last 20 years, when you asked, "Who were the people going into drug treatment for the first time," clearly these were heroin users. For two years now the dominant number is people who have cannabis as their main drug, which is quite new. We can also see in some cases - now and then - cannabis users in emergency rooms, and this is largely due to this high-quality cannabis, with high THC values.

A Memminger want the city allowed the cultivation of cannabis and controlled delivery to consumers. What the mayor has to say.

Christoph Rossner (45) is a pain patient. He had a serious accident 25 years ago. For years, he took strong painkillers. Then he smoked a joint - and suddenly the pain went away. Cultivation, acquisition and possession of intoxicating cannabis, however, is not allowed in Germany. Therefore Rossner and some colleagues want to legalize the thing. And with the establishment of a "Cannabis Social Club" in Memmingen. He has now handed over the town hall a petition with 66 signatures. Mayor Ivo Holzinger currently looks like there is little chance to implement this proposal. For a release of cannabis to be allowed by law after the Bundestag.

(Photo : Getty Images/Hulton Archive) The golden artifacts were unearthed in the Caucasus Mountains in Russia.

Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,400-year-old set of gold artifacts within ancient grave mounds in the Caucasus Mountains of Southern Russia. The set included solid gold bongs that tested positive for marijuana and opium.

Louisiana may be about to reform its harsh marijuana laws, but not Kansas; a Nebraska CBD cannabis oil bill dies, a Michigan legalization initiative goes back to the drawing board, the Germans and the Israelis grapple with marijuana policy, and more.

Marijuana Policy

BERLIN — A conservative politician who crossed the aisle and has joined the German Green Party’s campaign to legalize marijuana has revived a long-running debate about the drug in Europe’s largest economy.

Experience in the US to relax the strict cannabis prohibition, show that fears are unfounded. Eleven Reasons Why Saxony-Anhalt would benefit from cannabis legalization vigorously.

Sometimes there are 1,800 plants in the former railway station in Fischbeck, then 2,100 plants in the former administrative building of the Telekom in Stendal. Hardly a week goes by without a detail of police somewhere in the country uncovering a more or less large cannabis plantation - At the same time more and more voices in the political landscape are calling for a release of marijuana under controlled conditions.

When there is talk of mafia-like structures on European soil, some people may tend to think more of Italy rather than Germany. The fact is, however, that we have a large, highly active black market for illegal drugs here in Germany, one with the closest of ties to organised crime. And we have not succeeded in combatting this effectively with bans. The reason is that it is not possible to ban a black market. A black market is the consequence of a ban. Our ban on the possession and purchase of cannabis – in other words, the demand – thus has more of a proxy effect than a supplementary one, and the stamp of illegal behaviour, with the risks this entails, is transferred to the consumers. This appears to be a form of displacement activity – as consumption itself is allowed in principle.

The idea of legalizing cannabis is gaining momentum in Germany. It's getting surprising support from parts of the political spectrum that have historically been hostile to the idea. Yet the measure, if adopted, could make it harder for Germans to get marijuana.

• At its party congress in Berlin, the majority of FDP members are in favor of the legalization of cannabis, under strict conditions.
• The drug should continue to be sold under strict conditions as stimulant in selected stores under license to adults.
• The FDP is participating with its foray to a growing debate about hashish and marijuana.

62 percent for legalization
The list of advocates who want to release the illegal drug cannabis is longer. According to the Greens, the FDP will now release hashish-smoking. At its party conference in Berlin, the Liberals voted on Sunday with just under 62 percent for the legalization of cannabis under strict conditions.

Considering that up until about 85 years ago, cannabis oil was used around the world to treat a variety of diseases, including cancer, it is not surprising that the phasing out of cannabis to treat illness coincided with the rise of pharmaceutical companies.

Rick Simpson, a medical marijuana activist, is on a crusade to help others heal. He regards cannabis as the most medicinally active plant on the face of the earth, and shared this apparent miracle with others — completely free of charge. He now has thousands of testimonials from those who were healed from ‘incurable’ disease to back up his claims ~ that cannabis annihilates cancer.