Marijuana

Advocates for two competing medical marijuana measures in Los Angeles have gathered enough signatures to have the initiatives appear on the May ballot. Both measures aim to manage growth of medical marijuana shops, according to NBC News.

Drug use among Ohio inmates is the highest it has been in more than a decade, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Most of the inmates who tested positive for drugs in 2012 used marijuana.

A California-based company hopes to sell marijuana in vending machines in Colorado and Washington, which have legalized recreational use of the drug, NBC News reports.

Some people in Colorado celebrated New Year’s Eve in private marijuana clubs, which were allowed for the first time under the state’s new recreational marijuana law.

Almost one-quarter of the nation’s high school seniors say they have smoked marijuana in the past month, and just over 36 percent admit to using the drug in the past year, according to the 2012 Monitoring the Future Survey.

People who use marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, which have legalized the recreational use of the drug, should not be a top priority for federal law enforcement officials, President Obama told ABC News’ Barbara Walters.

Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado and Washington, employers in those states must determine how to handle employees who fail a drug test after using the drug on their own time.

Marijuana is a popular topic on the White House’s “We the People” online petition program, The Washington Post reports. Currently the second-most popular petition, with 66,000 signatures, asks President Obama to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

A new study finds children and teens who overeat are more likely to start using marijuana and other drugs, compared with their peers who don’t eat too much.

Teenage girls who experience dating violence are more likely to binge drink compared with their peers who aren’t in abusive relationships, a new study finds. Teen boys who report dating violence are more likely to use marijuana as young adults compared with boys with healthy dating relationships.

Federal officials are weighing their options for legal action against Washington and Colorado’s new marijuana laws. Such action could undermine the laws, which legalize the recreational use of the drug.

Dozens of people gathered near Seattle’s Space Needle on Thursday to smoke marijuana, as Washington became the first state to legalize recreational use of the drug.

A new study concludes that parental involvement is more important than the school environment in preventing or limiting children’s use of alcohol or marijuana.

A poll released Wednesday finds 51 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana. Men and younger voters are more likely to support legalization, Reuters reports.

Across Colorado and Washington state, communities are taking varying approaches to newly approved laws that legalize small amounts of recreational use of marijuana for adults.

A new study suggests a specific genetic variation may increase the risk of developing marijuana-related psychosis.

The presidents of four Latin American countries have called for an international debate on drug legalization, following the passage of laws that legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington state.

Health insurers are unlikely to start covering the cost of medical marijuana, even as more states approve its use, The Washington Post reports. Earlier this month, Massachusetts joined 17 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Although voters in Washington have approved a new law allowing the recreational use of marijuana among adults, employers in the state are unlikely to change their drug use policies, according to The Seattle Times.

In response to the newly approved recreational marijuana law approved by Washington state voters last week, the Seattle Police Department has produced a flippant guide that explains the new law, according to NBC News.

Officials in Colorado and Washington are concerned about an increase in car crashes related to marijuana, now that recreational use of the drug by adults has been approved in both states.

Experts say the federal government is unlikely to target individual marijuana users, as it responds to new laws in Colorado and Washington state that legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

Officials at universities in Colorado and Washington state say they do not expect to change their marijuana policies, in light of voters’ approval of laws that legalize recreational marijuana in those two states.

Officials in Colorado and Washington state are seeking guidance from the federal government in the wake of those states’ approval of recreational marijuana laws, The Washington Post reports.

Although Arkansas voters rejected a medical marijuana initiative on Tuesday, supporters of the measure say they will modify it and try again. If the measure had passed, it would have been the first medical marijuana law to be approved in a southern state, according to the Associated Press.