Medical cannabis

North Macedonia's new draft law on the control of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, which the government approved on Monday and will be sent to parliament soon, where is likely to be passed by the ruling majority, will enable exports of cannabis flowers for medical purposes.

Tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis were revealed to be the most-used substances in Istanbul in analyses conducted by a group of Turkish researchers from studies they ran on samples from the city sewers.

Police has busted three high-tech outfitted greenhouses for cultivating cannabis in a former industrial building in Nova Mahala locality in Sofia Vrazhdebna district. This happened during a special police operation.

Five people were also detained in the raid - all with criminal records, two of them previously convicted.

The intense interest of representatives of important American companies for investments in the field of medical cannabis in Greece, was recorded in an online event co-organized on Thursday, May 20, by the Hellenic Investment and Foreign Trade Company SA.

The government plans to table a draft bill shortly reforming the laws around cultivation and export of medical cannabis products, according to proposal presented by Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis at last week's cabinet meeting.

A bill that seeks to reform the framework for the production and export of medical cannabis was presented to the cabinet on Thursday by Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis.

The bill facilitates the export of medical cannabis products, adhering to the same procedures that apply to generic medicinal products produced in Greece.

Yet, even with 22 countries in Europe already allowing the use of cannabis for medical purposes, Albania's announcement has raised eyebrows.

Police in Athens on Thursday were questioning a 37-year-old Greek man in connection with a hydroponic nursery where cannabis was being cultivated that was raided by officers in the neighborhood of Exarchia on Wednesday.

The nursery was fully equipped to produce and package cannabis for distribution in Exarchia and the broader area, according to police.

A visitor reacts while being photographed smelling medical cannabis flowers during Cannabisexpo 2020 exhibition of medical cannabis in Athens, Sunday. Greece was among the first countries to allow medical cannabis cultivation in Europe in 2017. [EPA]

The state of Illinois has legalized the use of marijuana, with the governor pardoning thousands of people with past convictions for use of small amounts of cannabis, AFP reported.

The law will allow residents over the age of 21 to legally purchase marijuana and repeal thousands of convictions across the state.