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New research published today in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine confirms what many of us have suspected for some time: If you smoke a lot of weed -- like a lot of it -- it can potentially do permanent damage to your short-term memory. Professor Reto Auer of the University of Lausanne led a team of researchers who examined data on the marijuana habits of nearly 3,400 Americans over a 25-year period. At the end of the study period, the subjects took a battery of tests designed to assess cognitive abilities -- memory, focus, ability to make quick decisions, etc....

Floridians will decide this November whether to allow medical marijuana in the state. On Wednesday, a constitutional amendment to legalize the drug gained enough signed petitions to qualify for the ballot next November. If passed, the amendment would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for people with “debilitating conditions” such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article56931218.html#storylink=cpy

Topeka - Navy veteran Raymond Schwab started treating symptoms from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with a slew of prescription medications that he said nearly ruined his life. But he found relief in cannabis therapy that helped him to get a degree and be a more effective parent, Schwab told a panel of Kansas senators on a second day of hearings. The Kansas Senate's Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee heard Schwab - who was deployed during the Bosnian War in the 1990s - and other opponents testify about a bill that would soften criminal penalties for marijuana possession, allow for hemp oil...

One person is brain dead and five others are seriously ill after taking part in a drug trial for an unnamed pharmaceutical firm at a clinic in north-west France. The French health ministry said the six patients had been in good health until taking the oral medication. It did not say what the new medicine was intended to be used for, but a source close to the case told AFP that the drug was a painkiller containing cannabinoids, an active ingredient found in cannabis plants. The health minister, Marisol Touraine, said on Friday the six had been taking part in...

AUSTIN, Texas – A black Texas middle-school student threw a temper tantrum in a video that also shows adults seemingly unwilling to do anything to restore civility. User bklynblke posted a nearly 3 minute tirade to LiveLeak Monday showing the young girl climb on top of tables in the Westview Middle School cafeteria before going off on a profanity-laced rant against school officials and law enforcement, repeatedly challenging them to "touch me, I dare you." VIDEO The video appears to have been recorded by a student sitting at an adjacent table, where other students seem unconcerned, as if it's just...

Townhall's Steve Chapman advocates marijuana legalization to combat El Chapo of the Sinaloa Cartel and other narcotraficatismos.If we truly want to hurt the major drug traffickers, there is a simple way: legalize the use, sale and production of marijuana. - El Chapo Got Caught. So What? Legalization in Netherlands has really solved their problems--right. Legalziation there merely puts organized crime in a different court of play. Netherlands has pulled back from some its legalization policies in the wake of the failures.Marijuana is the least problematic, so lets count some of the ways... Is It Worth Losing Your Manhood?Does smoking pot...

All across America last weekend, panicked drug users rushed to their dealers to stock up on marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine for fear of running out. The arrest of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, head of the biggest drug cartel in Mexico, was sure to cause a sudden shortage of illegal substances in this country. That's right. And I'm Queen Latifah. In reality, the capture of the narcotics kingpin is likely to have about as much impact on drug supplies as Martian solar storms do. You wouldn't expect long lines at the gas pump if the CEO of Exxon Mobil...

A couple weeks ago, I posted about a case in Kansas in which a couple was wrongly raided by a police tactical team. Robert and Addie Harte and their two children were held in their home by armed officers for over two hours as the officers searched the house for marijuana. They found no drugs. After spending $25,000 to get a judge to order the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department to turn over documents related to the search and investigation leading up to it, the Hartes discovered that Robert Harte, along with hundreds of other people, became a suspect when Missouri...

A couple weeks ago, I posted about a case in Kansas in which a couple was wrongly raided by a police tactical team. Robert and Addie Harte and their two children were held in their home by armed officers for over two hours as the officers searched the house for marijuana. They found no drugs. After spending $25,000 to get a judge to order the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department to turn over documents related to the search and investigation leading up to it, the Hartes discovered that Robert Harte, along with hundreds of other people, became a suspect when Missouri...

Through the use of images… I’ll show you what it brings. But before I do that (just to be fair), I will say that the drug has its medicinal benefits, there’s no doubt about that, but medicinal patients are hardly the bulk of the enthusiasts or the consumers. They might represent 10% or less of that base. The other 90% represents the following: Filthy dirty homeless drug addicts hanging out on your street corners. Pan handling, and when asked to leave… they respond, hey man I thought this place was cool man? I thought I could just sit here and...

Some state-certified marijuana labs testing for microbes such as E.coli and mold appear more friendly to pot merchants than others, according to an analysis by a Woodinville data scientist. Four labs rejected none of the pot they tested over a three-month period last year, according to the analysis by Jim MacRae. Four other labs failed more than 12 percent of samples tested over the same time, with two labs rejecting 44 percent of samples for microbes. “It’s almost impossible for that to happen,” said David Lampach, co-founder of Steep Hill Labs in Tukwila, of the disparity. After sifting through public...

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) A deputy who works for a Northern California anti-narcotics task force is facing felony drug charges after he was arrested delivering $2 million worth of marijuana to someone in Pennsylvania. According to a criminal complaint, officers arrested Yuba County Sheriff Deputy Christopher M. Heath, along with 2 other men, driving across the country with 122 packages of marijuana. Each package weighed about a pound. The trio was stopped on December 29 after police received a tip. All three were booked into York County Prison. Heath, 37, was also carrying his badge, his duty firearm and $11,000...

<p>LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) - As the price of marijuana continues to drop, Washington pot businesses are struggling to keep up with the changes.</p> <p>The Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1O6nqKx ) that since legal marijuana entered the market in July 2014, prices have dropped from $25 to $30 per gram to about $10 a gram now.</p>

“If you analyze it, I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism…The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom, and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” – Ronald Reagan We’re entering an unusual time in politics. It used to be conservatism versus liberalism; that was the standard by which everything was judged. There was little to no nuance within the two groups. I’m not saying that was incorrect. For the time, it was perfectly appropriate. Now, however, we’ve become a less...

On Monday, when he announced that a grand jury had declined to indict two Cleveland police officers in the 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said enhanced video of the incident showed the boy was drawing what looked like a gun from his waistband. Although the object was actually an Airsoft pellet pistol, McGinty said, Timothy Loehmann, the officer who killed Tamir within two seconds of arriving at the scene, had no way of knowing that. Even if we accept this account, it does not explain why Frank Garmback, Loehmann's partner, drove right...

Billionaire philanthropist and Koch Industries CEO Charles Koch blasted the hypocrisy of pot criminalization’s disproportionate enforcement in an October interview on CBS This Morning. In the interview, which can be seen in the above-embedded video, Koch said, “Some poor kid in the inner city smokes a joint, goes to prison, ruins his life, where we have a president who is more privileged, who smoked a joint, becomes president. We have a candidate who admits smoking a joint — he’s running for president. Now, where is the justice in that?”

Recreational marijuana use would be legal in Kentucky in 2016 if proposed legislation becomes law. State Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, is sponsoring a bill called the Cannabis Freedom Act. The bill proposes to legalize recreational marijuana use for those 21 years or older, decriminalize offenses such as unauthorized growing and distribution and consuming cannabis in public and place an excise tax on the drug. "Originally what inspired me was a group of retired Teamsters," Clark said. The Teamsters knew that using marijuana was a cheaper alternative to costly prescription painkillers they needed, he said. "They didn't want to be criminalized...

DENVER (KMGH) - A local nonprofit hit the streets of downtown Denver on Christmas Eve and gave away a thousand free, pre-rolled marijuana joints to the homeless and anyone else who wanted one. "Merry Christmas and a puff puff, New Year's," said one woman who accepted a joint. Nick Dicenzo, the founder of Cannabis Can and the one responsible for handing out the free weed, said they're trying to raise awareness about homelessness and encourage people to donate to their cause. The cause? To raise money to buy several RV's and provide restrooms and showers for those in need. Dicenzo...

There's a long and not-very-proud tradition of anti-drug advertising that gets ridiculed for missing the mark with young audiences. Australia's New South Wales government just added a classic new entry to that hall of shame with #StonerSloth, a campaign designed to shame teens who get high—but who are finding the ads hilariously delightful instead. In three short videos, marijuana has turned teens into giant sloths—and the metaphor is made literal, as the kids are actually depicted as giant hairy beasts with long, curved claws. Socially, they're utterly useless. All they can do is moan, since they're so high. And they...

As another month goes by in Colorado's marijuana legalization experiment, Denver's 2015 crime wave cranks up yet another notch. November's crime data is out for the city, and it doesn't tell a pretty story. There were another eight murders in Denver during November, bringing the year-to-date total to 50, which is more than 72 percent higher than last year's numbers. Across the board, other violent crime in Denver is also skyrocketing this year. The number of rapes has increased 16 percent, robberies are up 13 percent, and aggravated assaults are up 14 percent based on the UCR standards and up...