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A California entrepreneur is marketing a new line of medical marijuana soft drinks. Canna Cola contains THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and will only be sold in legal pot clubs.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that everyone else should drink less soda. The city has launched a multi-pronged effort to get New Yorkers, especially low-income New Yorkers, to drink fewer sugar-sweetened beverages. The mayor, who is the tenth richest person in the country according to Forbes, initially suggested using economic pressure to change New Yorkers’ buying habits by imposing a statewide tax on sugar-saturated beverages.

One of the unexpected side effects of Obama’s socialized medicine plan could be the state claiming the right to determine what you can eat or drink. When your good health becomes a matter of fiscal policy, you can predict the “fat police” stepping into your life, regulating nutrition as they see fit, and it appears early salvos in that battle are now sounding in Illinois. Murmurs from “public interest groups” located in the Land of Lincoln are suggesting a mandatory state tax on sugary soft drinks that could potentially raise the price of high calorie sodas by one or two...

In the City by the Bay, it may soon be easier to get a pot-laced brownie than a can of Pepsi. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom recently intensified his surge against soda pop just as the city's health department issued regulations to guide medical marijuana shops in how to prepare "edible cannabis products." Which prompts the question: Does Mr. Newsom believe that Sprite and Dr Pepper are more hazardous to your health than a marijuana milkshake? Certainly the mayor, who is running as a Democrat for lieutenant governor, has done little to dispel that perception with his single-minded assault on...

ALBANY — Union members rallied Tuesday to protest Gov. David Paterson’s proposed tax on sugary soft drinks, which they believe will kill jobs and hurt working families. Labor union officials say the state is trying to pretend that it’s a public health issue, when it’s “nothing more than a money grab.” “This tax is not about obesity, it’s about raising revenue,” said George Miranda, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16, which represents 125,000 union workers in the New York metropolitan area.

Buzz up! Pittsburgh's mayor touts a proposed tax on sweetened beverages as one that would promote healthier living through weight loss, but it's really "a money grab," one critic said Wednesday. Another outspoken critic of Allegheny County's tax on alcoholic beverages called this tax an "absurd" idea that would hurt restaurants and businesses. Yet, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he plans to meet Monday with state lawmakers in Harrisburg about the city's need to raise $15 million for its pension fund, and the beverage tax modeled after one Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter proposed will be part of the discussion. "If somebody...

First lady Michelle Obama has made reducing childhood obesity a national priority, but it could take creative and controversial measures to really help American kids shed their pounds. A 1-cent-per-ounce tax on nondiet soda pop and other sugary drinks is one proposal that public health experts are floating. While many of our users agree that the tax would be helpful, some argue it doesn't go far enough. Be sure to follow the link above.

The Alliance for a Healthier New York, a coalition of labor unions, health care, religious and non-profit groups that support the so-called "fat tax" on sugary drinks proposed by Gov. David Paterson, has launched a statewide campaign urging the Legislature to pass the measure. The "Just a Few Pennies" campaign includes a "significant buy" statewide of print, radio, and TV ads, as well as an on-line component (linked above), according to the coalition's spokesman, Jonathan Rosen. The TV ad starts airing today and will continue to run over the next three weeks

It's time fruit juice loses its wholesome image, some experts say Compared with soda, juice carries more calories and as much sugar. There's also evidence that high consumption increases the risk of obesity, especially among kids. By Karen Kaplan November 8, 2009 To many people, it's a health food. To others, it's simply soda in disguise. That virtuous glass of juice is feeling the squeeze as doctors, scientists and public health authorities step up their efforts to reduce the nation's girth. It's an awkward issue for the schools that peddle fruit juice in their cafeterias and vending machines. It's uncomfortable...

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own. Soft drinks are hard on your health Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and...

They were always called "pop bottles" out in the Sandhills of Nebraska when I was growing up, but the liquid inside was always called "soda." I suppose it was one of those regional things, but whatever. It was a couple of "pop bottles" that nearly caused my demise the summer I was three years old. An older sister and I had come across them, and all agog and excited, we decided to turn them in to the neighborhood midget grocery store for candy. She, holding the bottles, ran across the street. I ran across the street following her, but alas...

Can tax on soft drinks fight obesity? View article...

(09-17) 20:36 PDT -- Calling soda the new tobacco, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will introduce legislation this fall that would charge a fee to retailers that sell sugary beverages. Newsom would need voter approval to tax individual cans of soda and sugary juice, but only needs approval from the Board of Supervisors to levy a fee on retailers.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The California lawmaker who spearheaded a high-profile anti-obesity effort across the country's most populous state is now training his sights on sugar-sweetened drinks. Sen. Alex Padilla, who led a campaign requiring big restaurant chains to disclose calories in meals, said on Thursday he planned to hold hearings in November on the link between soda consumption and obesity. The announcement from Padilla -- who chairs the California Senate's Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes -- coincides with the release of a study that shows nearly two-thirds of children aged 12 to 17 gulp down at least one...

I don’t like soda pop. It’s bad for you, it’s a waste of money, it rots your teeth. I don’t like soda pop. So I don’t drink it. That’s how freedom works. If you like soda pop, you drink it. If you don’t like soda pop, you don’t drink it. It’s a great system. But Obama wants to screw with it. In an era in which the federal government seems intent on taking both your freedom and your money, the new target is soda pop. Get ready to get hosed. If you resist, you are a racist. This week, in...

In an interview with Men's Health published Monday, President Obama suggested that a tax on such items as soda and sugary drinks should be put on the table, saying "I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring." **** Putting aside the fact a soda tax would violate Obama's central campaign promise not to raise "any form" of taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year, his statements indicate his support for use of the tax code as a tool to reward and punish certain behaviors as he sees fit. This incident also reminds us of Obama's...

Gov. Paterson's proposal to tax soda in New York fizzled, but President Obama believes it may be time to pop a similar sin tax on the nation. The President, in an interview with Men's Health magazine released yesterday, said he thought taxing soda and other sugary drinks is worth putting on the table as Congress debates health care reform. "It's an idea that we should be exploring," the president said. "There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda...

Two cans of fizzy drink a day could cause long term liver damage, resulting in the need for a transplant, according to new research. Researchers are now urging parents to cut back on their children’s consumption of fizzy drinks as well as reducing fresh fruit juices substituting them for water. Liver damage is normally associated with alcohol abuse but the new study has found that non-alcoholic drinks with a high sugar content can cause a condition called fatty liver disease. Related Articles Artificial sweeteners 'do nothing to help weight loss' Scientists from Israel found that people who drank a litre...

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration says a test shows that either a frog or a toad was in a Florida man's soda can, but it's not clear how it got there

...Freiden said he was not endorsing the tax as a member of the administration but was "just presenting the science," according to Ambinder..... .... The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a three-cent tax would generate $24 billion over the next four years, and proponents of the tax argued before the committee that it would lower consumption of sugary drinks and improve Americans' overall health. ...