Smoking for our health, mon

Serpa "We should be the new El Dorado of medical cannabis production," said agronomist Jose Martins as dozens of workers harvested marijuana in bright sunshine at a farm in southeastern Portugal.

The country is fast be coming a European hub for medical cannabis, with its warm temperate subtropical climate often compared to California's-making it an ideal place to grow the plant.

"No other country in Europe has better environmental conditions," Martins said at the plantation, which is surrounded by razor wire and infrared cameras.

Set in hills near Serpa dotted with olive trees and cork oaks, the 5.4-hectare farm owned by the Portuguese pharmaceutical FAI Therapeutic, produces around 30 tons of cannabis flowers a year.