There’s a political showdown brewing in Malaysia, and cannabis is at the center of it all.

This week, Dr. Nadiah Norudin, a leading member of the healthcare activist group I-Medik, spoke out against a proposal to decriminalize marijuana in Malaysia.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is pushing for the legalization of cannabis and other personal drugs.

However, he said regulations must be put in place by governments to curtail abuse.

“And therefore, the fourth and final step is to recognize that drugs must be regulated precisely because they are risky. It is time to acknowledge that drugs are infinitely more dangerous if they are left solely in the hands of criminals who have no concerns about health and safety.

It's nearly that time of year. The annual occasion that brings together 16,000 laboratory scientists from industry, academia and government to discuss the latest trends in laboratory science. We're talking about Pittcon of course, the world’s largest annual premier conference and exposition on laboratory science. Pittcon never fails to deliver quality information and education that is used by the industry year-round. Let's see what some of the 2016 trends are:

Cases of young people influenced by growing acceptance of drug overseas a worrying trend

It was a National Geographic documentary he watched at home on television that got him believing that smoking cannabis could help with his attention deficit disorder (ADD).

The documentary featured the supposed medicinal uses of the drug.

Jack (not his real name), was 15 then and doing fine at school, with parents who were working professionals. Through neighbourhood friends, he got his hands on the drug and started smoking it once a week.

He was nabbed by narcotics officers late last year in the Housing Board flat where he lived. Now a 17-year-old student at the Institute of Technical Education, he was put on urine supervision and made to undergo counselling.

Marijuana's ascent appears nothing short of unstoppable.

Roughly two decades ago, only a quarter of people responding to a national Gallup poll wanted to see marijuana legalized. But beginning in California in 1996 and spreading throughout the country, 22 additional states, as well as Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for medicinal use as of today.

How's this possible? On one hand, public approval of marijuana being used as medicine is higher than it's ever been. A CBS News poll from April 2015 showed that a whopping 84% of those surveyed across America would like to see marijuana legalized for medicinal purposes.

A growing number of countries are deciding to ditch prohibition. What comes next?

How do you like your weed? Whether you smoke to relax, get creative, or for medical reasons, a new online tool will help you decide which marijuana strain is best for the job.

Phillip Morris and Syqe, an Israeli medical device company with an inhaler type delivery system have announced a $20m investment.  The cigarette manufacturer will benefit  from a Medtech footprint to understand the potential to significantly reduce damage from smoking traditional nicotine products.

A study at Rambam Hospital where the cannabis inhaler was examined, reported it both safe and effective. In Israel there is an estimated 24, 000  medical cannabis patients.

It’s happening. We’ve been talking about it and planning it for months. We’ve received scores of exciting applications from across the world, more than half from Israel. And, this March 7th, as part of CannaTech, our International Cannabis Summit for Accelerating Cannabis Innovation, a fortunate three entrepreneurs will get their opportunity to pitch their idea to a group of investors.

The cannabis industry is coming on strong and set to outperform every industry since the dawn of mankind.  Not since alcohol prohibition ended in 1933 has an industry emerged with an existing user base, NOT apotential user base, but an active, bustling, black market trade that was brought into the mainstream.

Las Vegas—A new paper provides the first compendium of controlled substance classification systems around the world, revealing a broad spectrum of regulations but little consensus as to what works best.