New figures from the Danish National Institute of Public Health show that cannabis use is up among high school students while drinking is down.

According to a survey from the Danish National Institute of Public Health (Statens Institut for Folkesundhed), cannabis use has increased significantly amongst teenaged Danes. Since 1996, the number of male high school students who have experimented with cannabis has grown from 26 to 50 percent. Usage amongst girls has gone from 19 to 31 percent over the same time period. 

Twelve percent of the 70,000 respondents said that they have smoked marijuana in the past month and 6.8 percent of girls and 22 percent of boys said they have done it at least ten times. 

More than 40 percent of Americans admit trying marijuana, the largest percentage in more than four decades of polling, a Gallup survey found Wednesday.

The 44 percent of people who say they tried marijuana is a significant jump from 1969, when Gallup first began asking the question. Back then, only 4 percent admitted trying the drug. By 1985, that figure had increased to 33 percent. 

"The changes over time may reflect either an increase in the percentage who have tried the drug, or an increased willingness to admit to having done so in the past," Gallup explained.

A study scrutinizes the young consumer habits of 17 year olds on alcohol, tobacco and cannabis.

Young in the South of France consume more cannabis than those in the North. That at least is what emerges from a study released Wednesday by the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). To reach these conclusions, a survey was conducted among 23,201 adolescents in March 2014. It shows that 9.2% of these young people have regular cannabis use.

Even if some experts believe more research on the effectiveness of medical cannabis is needed, users undergoing the controversial treatment believe it works – at least for certain conditions.

Menominee Indian Tribe members will soon have a chance to weigh in on whether marijuana should be legal for recreational and medicinal use on their reservation in northeastern Wisconsin.

The tribe plans to hold a referendum vote on Aug. 19-20 to find out how its members feel about legalizing the drug. Members will be asked whether medical marijuana use should be allowed and whether anyone age 21 or older should be allowed to use the drug recreationally on the Menominee Indian Reservation.

"This is just a start," said Gary Besaw, chairman of the Keshena-based tribe. "We'll see if the tribal membership wants us to move forward and wants us to commit more energy toward this."

Marijuana’s prolonged illegal status continues to impede on the growth of the industry, even in states that have already legalized pot for recreational use, such as Washington and Colorado. Due to a lack of reliable research on the cultivation of marijuana crops, growers are struggling with which pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides to use without compromising the safety of a product many Americans use.

The country's most populous state could be on the right path toward full marijuana legalization in 2016 after a major report, spearheaded by the state's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and released Wednesday, has attempted to lay the groundwork for implementing adult recreational pot sales. 

While the report, titled the "Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy," neither endorses nor opposes legalizing pot in California, it signals that lawmakers consider marijuana legalization a shoo-in with voters next year, and they're willing to start preparing now for when that day comes. 

Any Italian will tell you: pasta is healthy and makes you feel good. But what about spaghetti made from cannabis?

Farmers from southern Italy presenting their wares at a London food festival this week say their hemp pasta, oil and bread won't get you high, but do provide a healthy, tasty alternative to the traditional, wheat variety.

"Hemp food is truly organic," said Marzio Ilario Fiore, 30, whose farm in the Molise region produces hemp oil and flour. "Hemp requires no pesticides, no fertilizers, and only moderate amounts of water." Cannabis is most often associated with the psychoactive effects of marijuana, but some strains of the plant can also be cultivated for food.

Italian politicians took the first steps for a brave new world of legal cannabis this week when 200 of them agreed a draft text to legalize the growing, sale, transport and use of cannabis.  Specifically, if subsequently approved by Italian Parliament up to 15g of cannabis would be legal to possess, and up to 5 plants would be permitted.  Additionally, cannabis would be sold in Govt approved shops.