This Christmas D.C. Residents Will Have Their Trees and Smoke Them, Too

An Australian anti-marijuana campaign that features an intoxicated sloth has drawn expert criticism and online mockery.

The Stoner Sloth campaign, financed by the New South Wales state government, aims to stop teens smoking marijuana.

The sloth character is shown as unable to cope with various social scenariosafter smoking the drug.

Australia's National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) criticised the campaign.

"[This] doesn't reflect NCPIC views on how cannabis harms campaigns should be approached", the organisation said in a statement..

When Mindy Segal decided she wanted to work with marijuana, the James Beard award-winning pastry chef knew she could do so much better than that tired cliche — the brownie.

Instead, she'll tap her understanding of transforming sugar into tempting treats to launch a line of chocolate brittles, granola bites, eventually even a hot chocolate — and all of them laced with butter infused with cannabis oil. In the process, she'll become one of the first celebrity chefs to lend her name and brand to the budding edible marijuana industry.

Pittsburgh City Council is ending its 2015 legislative session on a high note, having voted Monday morning to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana within city limits.

Council voted 7-2 in favor of a bill, sponsored by Councilman Daniel Lavelle, that allows police to levy a fine of up to $100 against anyone possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish. In the case of minors, parents or guardians will be notified of the offense and must pay the fine.

Supporters say that’s better than charging suspects with a misdemeanor criminal offense, which can saddle defendants with a potentially job-killing rap sheet and burden police with paperwork.

When a driver registers a .08 or higher on a blood-alcohol test, drawing an OUI and all the expensive, life-altering consequences that come with it, there is little doubt that they were impaired while driving.

In fact, many people are at least slightly impaired well before they reach that level, but the law gives those people some leeway by setting the strict standard high enough so that unimpaired drivers are not mistakenly charged and prosecuted.

Since there is no test for marijuana analogous to the blood alcohol measurement used to enforce drunk-driving laws, police will have to use other ways to judge driver impairment. File photo

Marijuana has America seeing green in more ways than one.

The currently illicit drug has been gaining momentum at a rapid pace this decade with more than half of all respondents in national polls now offering a favorable opinion of marijuana. It's even pushed its way into the presidential debate spotlight, forcing the candidates to step into previously taboo territory and choose a position. Marijuana is also offering hope for medical patients with a variety of ailments in the 23 states where medical marijuana is currently approved.

Who can honestly say that they don't use drugs? I'm not necessarily talking about illegal drugs, like marijuana or psychedelics. Alcohol is a drug. Nicotine is a drug. Caffeine is a drug. Aspirin is a drug. Many kids are on Adderall and many parents [and grandparents ;) ] take Viagra. There are drugs to help us stay awake, drugs to help us fall asleep, drugs that heal our pain and cure illnesses. You can't watch television without seeing tons of commercials for drugs. Some drugs have been around for thousands of years while new ones are being discovered and created all the time these days. And yet most people I talk to don't see themselves as drug users.

Our new federal government has made it clear that legalized marijuana is just a matter of time. A visitor to Canada would be forgiven for believing legalization has already taken place: Cannabis dispensaries have been popping up across the country, especially in the past few months.

Many of these dispensaries are geared toward providing cannabis to people with a prescription from their doctor. But recent reports from Toronto show that many dispensaries sell cannabis with little more than the customer’s signature on a waiver form. Although illegal, the outlets seem to be operating more openly, presumably on the assumption that if legalization is coming, enforcement will leave them alone. Thus far, with a few exceptions, they seem to be right.