A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides an in-depth examination of marijuana use in the United States, as well as data regarding the public’s perception of the risks associated with the drug.

Using data collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2012 to 2014, SAMHSA analyzed various regions around the country and within states to determine the rates of marijuana use and “perceptions of risks of harm” associated with the drug’s use in different parts of the U.S.

Rapper Lil Wayne has been accused of breaking his concert contract after storming offstage during a marijuana event in California on Saturday.

The Lollipop hitmaker, a known weed advocate, was booked as the headliner for the High Times publication's Cannabis Concentrates Cup show in San Bernardino, hitting the stage after fellow hip-hop star B.o.B.

However, Wayne performed just four songs before vowing never to return to the drug-filled event, dropping the microphone as he made a quick exit.

"Don't you ever, ever, ever ask me to do this s--- again!" he fumed as he cut short his set, reports TMZ.com.

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and if this season’s marijuana-related books are any indication, the topic of weed—once alternative, now increasingly mainstream—is burning up. Forthcoming titles include user’s guides, cocktail recipe books, takes on the global legalization debate, and more, all of which aim to help readers enjoy, or at least contemplate, our new, greener times. The trend is all the more notable because large publishers are doing as much as their smaller counterparts to light up interest in the subject.

In at this time’s world, it has change into a lot simpler to be a hashish activist. As individuals change into increasingly excepting of the miracle drugs, it’s simpler and simpler to face out in public and protest criminalization or anti-cannabis legal guidelines, with out concern of repercussion. It hasn’t all the time been this manner, although, a couple of hashish activists blazed the way in which and supported hashish legalization earlier than many people even considered it an possibility.

Italian lawmakers will begin discussion on Monday of a proposal to ease up on the recreational use and growing of cannabis -- a highly inflammatory topic, with the government on the fence.

Were the draft to pass into law, people would be allowed to grow up to five cannabis plants for personal use and keep up to 15 grams of marijuana at home and five grams on their person.

It would still be illegal for people to buy or sell weed or smoke marijuana in public, but the Italian state could start issuing licenses allowing the drug to be grown and sold in a similar way to tobacco.

Several European countries, as well as a number of US states, have legalised marijuana in recent years, both for medical and recreational use.

Whatever you want to call it – pot, weed, ganja, grass – more and more investors are growing curious about marijuana’s future and related investment opportunities. Indeed, the industry has progressed to the point where the medical use of marijuana is gaining greater acceptance.

Within the last six years ago, the number of Americans who support legalizing medical marijuana has risen from 70 to 90 percent according to polls by Quinnipiac and Gallup. Those who support overall legalization has risen from 46 percent to 54 percent.

Let’s explore some of the recent news and changes to the marijuana industry that could impact the industry’s growth and accessibility for investors.

Here's the thing: When you're writing about pot-infused products aimed at making sex more fun, there's going to be nervous laughter and possibly blushing. There will be awkward pauses, and maybe a few too many "ums," as the mind searches for the right words.

Or maybe that was just me.

During the past year or so, sensual oils have materialized on Oregon's marijuana dispensary shelves, adding to the surprising ways pot is marketed. Entrepreneurs have come up with pot treats to ease your aging pet's arthritis, tinctures to slip into your morning tea and balms that offer a buzz while soothing chapped lips.

It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a way to put pot to an especially intimate use.

A British Airways flight to Crete was forced to make an unscheduled return to Gatwick after an overpowering smell similar to that of cannabis filled the cabin.

Passengers on Thursday’s 8.15am flight to Heraklion complained of a foul odour and the pilot turned the plane back as a precaution. The flight was diverted over Paris and met by fire crews when it landed at Gatwick 90 minutes later.

Passengers were transferred to a rescheduled flight at around noon. One of them, Simon Skinner, tweeted:

Country music icon Willie Nelson, long an advocate of marijuana legalization, is putting his money where his mouth (and joint) is by launching Willie’s Reserve, a new marijuana brand to be introduced in Washington and Colorado over the next few months. 

The writer of such classics as “Crazy,” “Always On My Mind” and “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” is following the lead of rappers including Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg and Freddie Gibbs, all of whom have entered the weed game with personalized strains.

Public-health researchers generally agree that on balance, marijuana is a less harmful drug than alcohol. Booze, for instance, is more addictive than pot, and from a chemical standpoint, it's far more toxic -- and hence lethal -- than marijuana.

Alcohol isn't just more harmful to individuals than marijuana is; it's more harmful to society, too. Drunken driving is a big factor in this -- studies generally show that alcohol impairs driving ability much more than just about any other drug does. Alcohol also makes people aggressive, and is a factor in roughly 40 percent of violent crimes committed today.