Most New Yorkers caught smoking pot in public will be issued summonses rather than arrested starting on Sept. 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced Tuesday. City officials believe the move could reduce the number of marijuana arrests in the city by as much as 10,000 a year. “This new policy...

The rethink was ordered after a 12-year-old’s cannabis-based epilepsy medicine was confiscated, eventually landing him in a hospital with severe seizures.

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenMichel Barnier’s speech on security cooperation after Brexit - SummaryLunchtime summaryAfternoon summary 4.40pm BSTI am afraid the breach of faith and trust is so great that the secretary of state’s credibility will never recover. There comes a point where the publicly accountable politician in charge of the railways should step...

The mayor will announce that those caught smoking marijuana in public will be given tickets instead, unless they have certain kinds of criminal histories.

Your questions about the medical use of cannabis oil answered Cannabis oils are extracts from cannabis plants. Unprocessed, they contain the same 100 or so active ingredients as the plants, but the balance of compounds depends on the specific plants the oil comes from. The two main active substances in cannabis plants are cannabidiol, or CBD, and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Oil extracted from hemp...

Ex-Conservative leader says policy is ‘inappropriate, ineffective and out of date’William Hague, the former leader of the Conservative party, has urged Theresa May to legalise cannabis, saying the UK’s drug policy is “inappropriate, ineffective and utterly out of date” and that the “battle is effectively over”.Lord Hague said issuing orders to the police to stop...

The British government announced Tuesday it would move to lift its ban on cannabis-based medicines, amid mounting criticism over the denial of treatment to severely epileptic children. But it rejected calls to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

A Florida circuit court has reinstated a stay on smoking medical marijuana.

A broad turnaround on the issue by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo could pave the way for New York to join a roster of states that have already legalized the drug, including California and Colorado.

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May’s speech on the NHS and the Lords debate on the EU withdrawal billNew Lords defeat for government on Brexit ‘meaningful vote’ amendmentJeremy Hunt’s morning interviews - SummaryAfternoon summary 7.29pm BSTWe’re going to close down our live coverage for the evening. Thanks for reading.If...

Another barrier to legal pot just went up in smoke. The state’s top health official said Monday that he’s going to recommend the legalization of marijuana in a report to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “We looked at the pros. We looked at the cons and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the...

PM appears to be at odds with health secretary, who says government has not got law right on medicinal use of substanceTheresa May appears at odds with senior cabinet ministers after playing down the prospect of a full-scale review into the medical use of cannabis oil, despite Jeremy Hunt admitting that the government had not got the law right.The health secretary said he backed the use of the substance and...

Theresa May has declined to support the health secretary's call to change laws around medicinal cannabis. Contrary to what Jeremy Hunt announced earlier in the day, the prime minister played down suggestions that a review of legislation on the use of the drug was under way Continue reading...

How can Sajid Javid deny long-term access to the cannabis oil that would control this boy’s epilepsy? This cruelty must endWhat kind of country gets a politician rather than a doctor to prescribe medicine for a sick child? When the home secretary, Sajid Javid, decided at the weekend to allow 12-year-old Billy Caldwell “one bottle” of cannabis oil, his spokeswoman said it was an exceptional case...

Charlotte Caldwell wants to see ministers discuss legalising THC for children with epilepsyThe mother of a boy with severe epilepsy has called for a meeting with the home and health secretaries to talk about making medical cannabis legal for children who have similar conditions to her son. Charlotte Caldwell said it was “absolutely horrific” and “cruel” that 12-year-old Billy had been...