The world has had a long and complicated relationship with hemp.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that hemp fell out of favor as one of the most important crops in the history of mankind. In 2016, however, anything is possible it seems.

So, it could be very soon where a variety of applications using hemp become economical, and hemp grows into a boon for society.

What was once a widespread plant became a taboo within decades. Its history shows it is useful for tens of thousands of applications and counting. 

THIS sports convertible brings new meaning to “high-performance” vehicle.

Made from the chassis of a Mazda, the car is made from cannabis hemp — and is touted as possibly leading the charge in making carbon-neutral vehicles, Barcroft Media reported.

Bruce Michael Dietzen from Florida, the mastermind behind the “green machine,” hopes his environmentally friendly car will weed out the taboo behind the cannabis plant.

“Cannabis hemp is still considered a dangerous drug according to the government. It’s considered as dangerous as heroin or cocaine — it’s insane!” he said. “This green machine is made from three plies of woven hemp, making it lighter than cars made from fibreglass.”

The BRICS nations comprise of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, with a significant influence on regional and global affairs. What is the Brics’ stance on marijuana and why should you care?

My last blog post examined the current legal and medical status of using marijuana as medicine. But how about specifically for treating fibromyalgia symptoms?

Many of my fibromyalgia patients report that medical marijuana/cannabis reduces their pain and improves sleep. A study of 28 fibromyalgia patients reported that two hours after use of cannabis they had a significant reduction of pain and stiffness.

In April 2016, the international community will convene for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS). This event, held two years early due to the urgency of the drug situation and intensity of drug-related violence, presents an opportunity to question the fundamentals of international drug policy. Despite overwhelming evidence that a century-long quest to control human behaviour and drug markets through international treaties and national legislation has failed, there is little expectation of change. The vested interests in retaining the status quo are significant, with sclerosis legitimised through the recurrent exhortation to improve international co-operation.

Pot. Cannabis. Mary Jane. The plant with psychotropic properties has a long pop culture presence — and an even longer record of use.

1. Pot. Weed. Mary Jane. Sticky-icky. Nicknames aside, much of the world calls the psychotropic plant by its scientific name, cannabis, and — until the early 20th century — so did Americans.

2. About a hundred years ago, however, the term marijuana became common in the United States, the result of anti-cannabis, anti-immigrant advocates trying to link recreational use of the plant to migrant workers from Mexico.

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:

For many decades in the U.S., marijuana has been painted as the psychedelic drug of hippies and stoners who lay around smoking dope to the detriment of their cognitive function. This image of marijuana use can certainly be attributed to one aspect of its culture, but Cannabis — a category of plants that include three species and seven sub-species — have been used in medicine for thousands of years.

A secondary school student was spared jail for selling drug-laced delicacies to her classmates at her school's athletics meet in Tsing Yi last year.

Dora Radic, 18, was slapped with a HK$10,000 fine in Tsuen Wan Court yesterday after she previously pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking a dangerous drug involving 0.38 grams of cannabis in the form of five "hash brownies" and 22 "weed cupcakes" at Tsing Yi Sports Ground on November 3 last year.

Her co-defendant, Natasha Richards, 17, admitted the same charge earlier and will be sentenced on January 11.

Radic is a Form Four student at the YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College, while Richards is an ex-student who is now studying in Macau.

When Tiffany Wu first entered the cannabis industry in March, she noticed that Asian Americans involved in the industry were few and far between — a trend the 28-year-old says was made even more apparent after she attended the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo, one of the nation's largest cannabis trade shows attracting thousands of advocates and industry professionals, in Las Vegas in November. 

"ANYTHING IN FAVOR OF GIVING MORE ACCESS TO PATIENTS IS SOMETHING WE ARE GETTING BEHIND. THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO NEED THIS."

"I personally saw maybe less than 15 Asian Americans during my three days there," Wu, a San Francisco Bay Area business attorney specializing in the cannabis industry, told NBC News.