The Rio Olympics, which is set to kick off this Friday, has already been marred by doping scandals. Russian athletes (among many others) have been accused of systemic doping of athletes to improve performance.

One would think that these huge developments would lead to heavy testing of Olympic athletes this year. However, The World Anti-Doping Agency, which is in charge of regulating drug tests for all Olympic sports worldwide, has reportedly cared very little about athletes use of marijuana outside the window of the Olympic games.

Kevin Smith's 'View Askewniverse' is a haven for stereotypical burnouts like Jay and Silent Bob, who spend their days selling weed outside a convenience store. But the funny thing is that Smith -- who turns 46 today -- didn't smoke marijuana when he created this cinematic world. Now that he's a regular cannabis user, he spends much of his time breaking down the stigmas that his previous films have helped ingrain in pop culture.

Smith opened up about using cannabis during a 2013 interview on City TV's 'Breakfast Television.' When asked him how he kept up his productivity, the director said marijuana was the secret to managing an ambitious work schedule.

Study from: 

Projectknow.com (http://www.projectknow.com/)

original study here :

http://www.projectknow.com/discover/high-school-drug-use/

American teenagers are more likely to smoke marijuana than binge drink, a new report reveals.

Meanwhile in Europe, marijuana consumption is minimal while drinking levels are far higher than in the United States.

The data, published in a recent report by addiction-awareness firm Project Know, will reignite the national debate on marijuana legalization as the election approaches.

Pot is everywhere in Miami. Its scent wafts from bus stops, floats through open windows, and cascades out from under lifeguard stands on the beach at night. Spend more than a week here and you will, at least once, wonder if the server delivering you overpriced cocktails is stoned out of his mind. 

Which is why it's so surprising that, according to one of the most respected marijuana-usage surveys in America, roughly half the residents in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties think smoking weed once a month is "harmful" and should be avoided. That's the highest rate in the nation.

Sixty-five percent of Americans ages 18 and older believe that "government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth" and 55 percent of respondents say that it should be legal to consume the herb, according to national polling data compiled by YouGov.com.

Those living in the western region of the United States (65 percent), Hispanics (64 percent), Democrats (63 percent), and those under 30 (63 percent) were most likely to endorse legalizing marijuana use. Republicans (45 percent), African Americans (44 percent), and those over the age of 65 (40 percent) were least likely to be supportive. 

It's unofficially official. A senior executive at the Drug Enforcement Administration has confirmed that the DEA will not be rescheduling marijuana in 2016, says a local attorney who spoke with him late last week. "The DEA is not going to reschedule marijuana this year.... They aren't issuing a public announcement about the change," the attorney adds. 

Many marijuana advocates — and the legislators who support them — have been hoping that the DEA would reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II substance. The reclassification would acknowledge that the drug holds medical value and allow for more research. 

Mexico Even though the cannabis movement is weak and marihuana growing is a crime, there are already in Mexico authorized growers, grow-shops, social clubs and politicians proposing regulation. What could happen now in a country so strongly affected by the power of illegal drug trade? Find out in this article.

For many years there has been in Mexico a promising but modest cannabis movement. The Marihuana World March has completed its 16^th edition, and political debate on the issue of cannabis has always been ongoing, not for nothing is this the country where the term marihuana was coined. Since 2011 in Mexico City, debate about regulation of marihuana use has been present at the Federal District parliament.

The common question gets to the bottom of some of the central problems in drug policy.

Cannabis continues to be the world’s favourite illicit drug with around 147m people using it annually. However, there are fears that the drug is becoming increasingly potent and that it could pose a public health risk. But how reliable is the evidence? And is it really getting stronger?

Possession of small amounts of marijuana is now a civil offense across Illinois, punishable only by fines — not jail time.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation decriminalizing small amounts of pot on Friday, after vetoing a bill last year that sought to allow slightly larger amounts.

Chicago has already joined more than 100 Illinois local governments in removing some criminal penalties for people caught with lesser amounts of marijuana. But the new law extends decriminalization to the entire state.

Supporters heralded it as a “commonsense” reform that will keep “countless citizens from having their lives turned upside down” by an arrest for using a drug “safer than alcohol.”

Anti-pot Gov. Chris Christie would be a top prospect for attorney general.

Americans pleased with the country’s progress toward marijuana legalization should be wary of a Donald Trump presidency, cannabis advocates say.

Their reason: The possibility that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), one of the country’s most outspoken anti-marijuana elected officials, would be Trump’s attorney general.