Despite the prevalence of digital information exchange, paper is still widely used in North America, for anything from wedding invitations to ballot mail-ins to arts & crafts. According to the Forest Ethics organization, paper consumption in North America has declined, but global paper consumption has increased. However, despite the decrease in consumption, North America still consumes more paper per capita than anywhere else (see Figure 1 below).

HEMPORIUM

With close to 40 countries growing low-THC industrial hemp, South Africa is falling behind, says Tony Budden.

Cape Town -

Cannabis… it certainly seems to be popping up in all sorts of strange places lately.

The mainstream media seem finally to be giving the plant some positive space, not just focusing on the “dangers” and reporting on the different initiatives around the world to get it liberated, a far cry from the old days of the “groen-gevaar”, the devil’s weed.

SUSAN Sarandon has been living the high life, literally.

Appearing on US talk show Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked the 67-year-old actor to name one major Hollywood event that she's showed up to stoned.

"Only one?" said a laughing Sarandon, before adding, "I would say almost all except the Oscars."

That's a lot of marijuana considering The Banger Sisters star has been to more than her fair share of award shows during her 44 year career.

Despite her penchant for the wacky-tobaccy, Sarandon has yet to embarrass herself when making an acceptance speech for her eight Golden Globes, four Emmy's and one Academy Award.

She really is a great actor!

The precipitous rise in public approval for legalized marijuana has accelerated over the last year. A spate of victories for cannabis proponents in early November was a fitting corollary to the Gallup poll a month earlier, revealing that 58 percent of Americans approve of marijuana legalization, and also seemed to confirm that the United States is on an inexorable march toward a mostly (if not entirely) regulated market for the plant: currently, 20 states plus DC permit either recreational or medical marijuana use, and cannabis industry experts predict that 14 more states will be added to that roster in the next five years.

Up to 500,000 people in Switzerland are believed to be occasional cannabis smokers

(Keystone)

Thick sweet-smelling smoke spirals slowly upwards from a secluded courtyard in the Les Grottes neighbourhood not far from Geneva railway station.

SSJ runs a range of addiction services across Hampshire.  Recently, the Southampton Drugs teams have noted a rise in the amount of people presenting to the service using cannabis in a problematic way.  Over the last year, Southampton Drug Services engaged over 550 Service Users in treatment.  Of those, just under a third admitted using cannabis regularly, with a fifth of all clients attending these services expressly stating cannabis was their main drug of choice.

A RASTAFARIAN lawyer convicted before on two counts of dagga possession appeared in the Simons Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Gareth Prince, 42, his wife Juanita Adams, 40, and daughter Samantha Adams, 19, were arrested at their Glen Cairn home on Wednesday.

His pro bono lawyer, Naven Pillay, told the court Prince used the substance on a “strictly religious basis”.

In 2002, the Cape Law Society refused to admit Prince as an attorney because he had two criminal convictions for possession of dagga.

At the time, Prince said he would not stop smoking what is regarded by Rastafarians as a “holy herb”.

He later lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for the substance to be legalised.

But this was rejected.

By Nuff Said

Originally from ISMOKE magazine