Medical cannabis

Authorities in Attica have launched a large-scale operation to bring down a gang believed to be behind a ton of cannabis found in a storage unit north of Athens.

Police have so far arrested six suspects and are seeking dozens more individuals believed to be involved in a large drug-smuggling racket that possibly stretches beyond Greece's border.

Bulgarian lawmakers on Friday rejected the legalization of medical marijuana, with only three backing the proposal in a 240-seat Parliament.

One person has been left “brain-dead” and five more have been hospitalized after a clinical trial on a cannabis-based drug went wrong in France, according to French Health Ministry.

The statement said the “serious accident” happened on Thursday, stopping the tests and forcing all volunteers to be recalled, while confirming that one of the test subjects “brain dead.”

The health ministry in Skopje told BIRN that it is carrying out wide-ranging consultations about making marijuana treatments available to people suffering from serious illnesses

The purchase and use of marijuana for medical purposes became legal in Croatia on Thursday as the country became the first Balkan state to join the global trend towards softening legislation on the drug.

Independent lawmaker Velizar Enchev has announced he is to put forward in September a bill that would allow for cannabis to be used for medical purposes.

He has warned that "thousands of people suffering in Bulgaria" could find a means to alleviate their pain if they are able to use a mouth spray and has underlined that legalizing smoking has never crossed his mind.

Albania's police launched yet another massive operation aiming to the curb the marijuana trade as the harvest season nears. 

"We have engaged about 450 officers from the police and the Rapid Intervention Force for the operation carried in the Dukagjin area. We encountered no incidents," a police statement on Tuesday said.

Turkish police have seized 130 kilograms of cannabis after stopping and searching a truck in the western province of Bolu.

The 1st Cannabis Festival aimed at legalizing cannabis use in Greece was rendered a success on May 9. An international conference is being organized under the aegis of the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government. Greek pro-cannabis activists point that legalization of the drug would only benefit the national economy, lining state coffers.

Israel is extending a hand to Bulgaria for cooperation on the research of medical cannabis with the prospect of turning it into a successful industry, a group of academicals from both countries said at a meeting organized by the Israeli Ambassador in Sofia.