Hello and welcome to the weekly roundup where each Sunday we look back at some of the news items making the headlines over the past seven days.

On Monday it was reported that a chef who was caught with over €1,000 worth of cannabis may escape a conviction

On Tuesday in the Irish Examiner analysis by Ann Cahill looked at the growing movement to end the war on drugs across the globe

On Tuesday it was reported that a cannabis grower in Mayo who gave his plants female names and recorded their growing patterns in a journal has been given a three year suspended sentence for cultivation

On Tuesday it was reported that Colorado is making so much money from legal cannabis that it is giving some back to its citizens

On Tuesday it emerged that Officers from Revenue’s Customs Service seized 23.5 kilos of herbal cannabis with a street value of €470,000

On Wednesday it was reported that a Hungarian man who grew “a bumper crop” of cannabis in his home to help treat his sleep condition has avoided a jail term

On Wednesday it emerged that the Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht has been convicted on US drug charges

On Thursday it was reported that two men were arrested following a €480,000 cannabis seizure in Limerick

On Thursday it emerged that a man had been arrested as cannabis plants worth €240,000 seized in Co. Offaly

On Thursday it was announced that new measures are to be undertaken to tackle drug use in prisons

On Friday it was reported that drug-related deaths are up 50% since 2004 when records began. Some 5,300 people have died in this period

On Saturday it was reported that a man who was growing cannabis plants at his home received a suspended sentence when he appeared before the circuit criminal court in Dundalk

Activism

SSDP Cork hosted a screening of The Culture High during the week in UCC

On Friday a number of activists, myself included, met Luke Ming Flanagan for an hour long discussion. A blog post about the meeting will be available tomorrow!