A heavy drought continues to run wild in California. Water storage decreases, but the State authorities take no active measures to save ecology and areas under crop.

Instead of it, fishery farms and forestlands are also being eliminated. These areas are used for medical marijuana plantations.

A great deal of water is also being wasted for such purposes as growing marijuana.

As an editorial in the Fresno Bee noted, marijuana production has skyrocketed despite the drought, even to the point of causing irreversible environmental damage:

The Danish National Institute of Public Health has released new figures showing that high school students are rejecting alcohol and hard drugs in favor of marijuana.

Over the past two decades, marijuana use among male high school students has almost doubled and use among female high school students has increased by half. In 1996, about one-in-four male teenage Danes (26 percent) had tried marijuana and about one-in-five female teenage Danes (19 percent) had tried marijuana. Today, half of all males (50 percent) and almost one-third of all females (31 percent) have tried marijuana.

Italy may well be on its way to becoming the largest country in Europe to legalize marijuana. An Italian tracking group has found that more than 250 lawmakers from across the political spectrum have given their support to a proposal that would largely decriminalize production, distribution, sale and consumption of marijuana throughout the nation.

The leap may appear far-fetched for a country that just 10 years ago voted in a draconian anti-drug bill that removed any distinction between hard and soft drugs, increasing sentences for pot smokers and heroin addicts alike.

DENVER - Driving high and driving drunk carry the same charge in Colorado, and that's a problem for those who want to track the impact, if any, of legalized marijuana on the safety of the state's roads and highways.

It's impossible to break out state-wide statistics about the number of convictions for driving under the influence of marijuana or other drugs. The charges and convictions are all lumped together under the same impaired driving statute.

That's a problem, says Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, who will propose a bill in the 2016 legislative session to enable marijuana-related driving offenses to be tracked.

A petition calling for the total legalisation of cannabis in the UK has been signed by more than 125,000 people in just four days.

The response to an appeal hosted on the government’s official e-petitions website means MPs must now consider debating the issue in parliament. All petitions that reach 100,000 signatures are given such consideration.

The petition’s success comes after a persistent campaign on social media, with activist-linked Twitter accounts around the world calling on UK-resident marijuana smokers to sign up.

Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but only Colorado and Washington have licensed dispensaries that can legally sell recreational cannabis. Since legalization and sale came to those communities, the budding pot industry in these two states has tried to shape a future of vineyard-esque tours of marijuana farms, and fatty-friendly salons reminiscent of Amsterdam’s cafes. (The phrase “Napa Valley of weed” gets tossed around a fair bit.)

While 19 year old Levy Thamba Pongi (a student hailing from the Republic of Congo) may not have died directly from the ingestion of too much cannabis, it’s what happened after the drugs kicked in that is causing Colorado to reassess labelling procedures on the packaging of treats containing the recreational narcotic.  After being dissatisfied with the effects from part of a cookie made with marijuana, the Wyoming teen decided to ingest the whole thing, leading him to essentially ‘trip-out’ and jump off a fourth-story balcony.  The incident took place March of last year, however new details are emerging as the state scrambles to stop others from following in the late exchange student’s footsteps.

Support for marijuana legalization and decriminalization in New Hampshire is rising, particularly among Democrats and undeclared voters, according to a poll released Thursday. The poll, by WMUR-TV in Manchester, revealed that 3 in 5 adults in the first-in-the-nation primary state favor marijuana legalization, while 72 percent support decriminalization.

NEW YORK — Soon after Colorado legalized recreational cannabis, Todd Mitchem’s son proposed using the plant for a horticulture project at his Montessori school in Denver.

School officials said no way, despite support from dad, a regular weed user and chief executive of a dating app and social network for fellow enthusiasts.

Todd Mitchem at his home near Denver in June 2015. Mitchem works in the marijuana industry and also is father to three kids ages 11, 9 and 7. (Todd Mitchem via AP)

“They didn’t want to touch it. They weren’t ready to touch it,” said Mitchem, who is divorced and shares custody of his kids, ages 11, 9 and 7.

Government health experts warn in a new report that the risks of consuming marijuana-infused edibles like weed brownies and other snacks mustn’t be understated following the suicide last year of a man whose death has been blamed on pot.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Friday that there’s “a potential danger” that comes with consuming marijuana-infused edibles, evidenced by an incident last March in which a 19-year-old man jumped to his death from the fourth-floor balcony of a Denver, Colorado, hotel while high.