While the purveyors of e-cigarettes talk up the technology as a harmless substitute to traditional smoking, there’s a fast-mounting body of research saying that’s not the whole story. Not only are some e-cigarette substances even more dangerous than tobacco, but there’s increasing evidence that vaping encourages people to take up smoking.

The marijuana advocacy group ResponsibleOhio has made headlines this week over a debate including the organization’s latest spokesperson.

Buddie, a green-muscled marijuana mascot, is serving as a spokesperson for ResponsibleOhio on college campuses across the state, motivating students to vote yes on ResponsibleOhio’s project.

Marshfield police seized more than $88,000 worth of marijuana being transported from Colorado in this 2013 file photo. State law still says that anyone caught with marijuana can be charged with a crime that could include significant fines, jail time and a permanent criminal record.(Photo: Gannett Central Wisconsin Media file photo)Buy Photo

Marijuana use comes with many potential side effects: reduced coordination, impaired driving, impairment to short-term memory, depression and other mental health issues, mood swings and the list goes on.

But, says Sheila Weix, a certified addiction nurse who has worked with those with substance abuse disorders for four decades, those are the same side effects experienced by those who abuse alcohol.

Many believe that molly is pure MDMA – the main ingredient in ecstasy – but it is frequently a mixture of chemicals that recreate the effects of MDMA. Designer drugs – synthetic drugs designed to mimic the effects other drugs – appear to be the fastest-emerging drug problem in the US.

Author:  Neal Catalano, North Bay Recovery Center Blogger

A North Texas cannabis company will soon debut its first cafe, with hemp-infused drinks and snacks. 

The AmeriCanna Café is a subsidiary of the publicly-traded Dallas-based North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc (USMJ). It's expected to open in Frisco by the end of the year, CEO Steven Rash said. 

"We want it to be like Starbucks of cannabis," he said. 

The drinks and snacks don't contain marijuana — the popular breed of cannabis consumed for its intoxicating THC. That's illegal in Texas. Instead they use hemp, the legal and less edgy cannabis plant. But that could change someday, said Rash, 67. 

Spurred by a general legalization initiative, the bills would explicitly allow commercial cultivation and distribution for the first time.

A majority of Michigan voters want to legalize recreational marijuana, but they can't agree on how to make it happen, according to a new poll. Nearly 56 percent of Michigan voters supported legalization efforts, while 40 percent were against legal marijuana, a Michigan Public Radio Poll released Thursday found.

I believe that all states will legalize marijuana in the next five years. There will be several proposals this year to legalize the stuff that made Cheech and Chong famous. Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form. Most of them use the guise of medical necessity to allow their citizens to get high. The District of Columbia, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington make no pretense — if you want to smoke a joint there, knock yourself out.

"We don't want people to feel oppressed and like they're hiding anymore. Prohibition is making people feel isolated in their own homes." 

Max, the founder of one of more than 60 cannabis social clubs in the UK, is clear in his position: cannabis decriminalization is long overdue in the UK. "It's the feeling of being oppressed that does the damage," he told VICE News.

Clubs like Max's bring users together to grow, sell and buy their own cannabis on a non-profit basis, offering members the chance to bypass unscrupulous dealers and know exactly what they're getting, as well as places to come together and smoke.