Fewer students than last year think that pot is harmful

More students in the 12th grade said they smoked pot every day, compared to those who smoke daily cigarettes, finds a new federal report. It’s the first time since the survey began in 1975 that daily marijuana use surpassed cigarettes.

The “Monitoring the Future” survey released on Wednesday shows that 6% of 12th graders used marijuana every day—about the same rate as last year—while 5.5% of seniors reported smoking cigarettes daily. (That’s a drop from 2014, when 6.7% of high school seniors smoked cigarettes every day.)

There seem to be few dull moments in the life of first lady Akie Abe, who sometimes spends her time hosting a web-based talk show, harvestinghoney from a bee farm and even payingoccasional visits to the contentious Yasukuni Shrine.

Most recently, Ms. Abe raised eyebrows after telling a Japanese magazine that she has considered becoming a hemp farmer to help revive the traditional culture.

Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed he will press ahead with marijuana legalization, liquor stores across the land have been queuing up to ask for a piece of the action.

First, it was British Columbia’s private liquor retailers teaming up with the union representing workers in the province’s public system to call for weed in both types of liquor outlet. Next, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger signalled his‎ interest in getting the drug into government-run Liquor Marts in his fief.

Extended restriction on recreational market and new ban on medical marijuana applications are seen as "transition phase"

In this Aug. 25, 2014 photo, marijuana store Denver Relief co-owner Kayvan Khalatbari, right, talks with his employee Jeff Botkin. (Brennan Linsley, Associated Press)

A shortened four-month expanded moratorium on new players in Denver's legal marijuana markets won easy approval Monday night from the City Council.

After longer discussions in a committee late last month, the council passed the ordinance changes quietly as part of a block vote.

OK, I’ll say it: What was she smoking?

Except that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s vision of a state-run monopoly on the fragrant weed, courtesy of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, is quite plausible, given the logic of imminent legalization. What becomes readily apparent, as the federal Liberals continue to find their footing, is that the idea of legalization of marijuana has never been deeply examined.

Legalization was a terrific attention-getter in 2013, and a powerful emblem of change. That worked for Justin Trudeau two years ago. It highlighted his youth and cool. It made Stephen Harper and his sternly anti-pot front bench look like fussy old bores — Sister Matilda, waggling a disapproving finger at the rambunctious kids at the back of the bus.

Mt. Angel voters will decide next year whether marijuana businesses will be allowed or banned in town.

The ban on both medical and recreational marijuana facilities was referred to voters by a pair of unanimous decisions by the Mt. Angel City Council on Dec. 8. Voters will make the final decision next November.

Because a large enough majority of Mt. Angel voters panned Measure 91’s statewide bid to legalize recreational marijuana last fall, council members could have adopted an outright ban on commercial enterprises. House Bill 3400 allows communities that voted “no” by 55 percent or more to enact a ban without gathering additional voter input.

PETALING JAYA, Dec 11 — The National Anti-Drugs Agency is not prepared to handle the possible trend of ganja abuse through vape. 

Its director, Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah, admitted yesterday more research had to be done to determine if consuming ganja through e-liquid posed a bigger health threat compared to conventional means.

To do this, he said, it must first be able to detect the target group through urine tests. 

“Currently, we are unaware if ganja consumed through vapes will cause someone to fail a urine drug test, hence the need for more research and information,” he said.

Suhaimi said the agency was not able to clamp down on errant vape users as vaping was beyond its jurisdiction. 

The strawberry fields of Ventura County won't become marijuana fields anytime soon.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday to reaffirm and formalize bans on commercial cultivation and sale of medical marijuana in the unincorporated areas of the county. All 10 cities in the county have similar bans, some of them formal and some of them de facto.

The ones without formal bans are working on them now, in the wake of state legislation passed in October that for the first time provides a full regulatory system for medical marijuana.

If a movement opposed to decriminalizing marijuana in Pittsburgh exists, its followers did not choose to speak at a public forum Tuesday afternoon in City Council chambers.

Instead, about 40 citizens told council members why they should vote to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, citing concerns about racial disparity in arrests, complications of having a criminal record and the right to self-medicate.

“I'm a homeowner. I'm a taxpayer. I've also been a criminal for about 40 years,” said Michael Keenan, 58, of Spring Hill. “I am tired of being a criminal over a plant.”

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the provincial liquor control board is the best way to sell pot. Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger made the same comment three weeks earlier. Ontario and B.C.’s government employees union have also called for it to be sold through existing liquor retailers.

Some may ask what they’ve been smoking, but based on why we got these boards in the first place, the premiers have a good case. Are liquor boards the best way to distribute cannabis? Yes, and here’s why: Liquor control boards were created so provinces could manage the legalization of another recreational drug, alcohol.