Marijuana Critic Gets High for a Living

Beatles seriously considered reunion, he says

(NEWSER) - Paul McCartney says he has called time on a pot-smoking career that started when Bob Dylan passed him a joint in 1964. In a Rolling Stone interview, the former Beatle says he's giving it up because of his daughter—not one of the three now in their '40s, but 8-year-old Beatrice. "I smoked my share. When you’re bringing up a youngster, your sense of responsibility does kick in, if you’re lucky, at some point," says the 69-year-old dad, who spent 10 days in a Japanese jail in 1980 after a half-pound of pot was found in his luggage. More»

County shutting down innovative sheriff-supervised grower program

(NEWSER) - The US county with one of the highest concentrations of pot farms—and tokers—is finally caving in to pressure from the feds. California officials in Mendocino County are snuffing out an innovative medical marijuana program that put pot growers under the supervision of the county sheriff. The program was the first of its kind in the nation, and was generally a hit with locals—but not with federal law enforcement, reports NPR . Sheriff's Sergeant Randy Johnson supervised some 100 growers in the county and earned his department more than $500,000 in fees. "I can't describe the joy of feeling that we were finally part of the county, not the outcasts," said one grower. More»

Study is first to probe link between marijuana and collisions: researchers

(NEWSER) - Smoking marijuana three hours or less before getting behind the wheel nearly doubles your chance of a major car crash, a study suggests. It's the first study to look at the link between cannabis and crash risk, the Canadian researchers believe. They examined study data for more than 49,000 collision victims, limiting their research to crashes that didn't involve alcohol, CBC reports. "The level of impairment might not be as severe as alcohol intoxication, but it's there and it does require a public health response," says an expert. More»

Romney looks battered, Gingrich looks worse

(NEWSER) - Rick Santorum's stunning sweep of Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri yesterday has thrown another plot twist into the Republican nominating contest. Here's what you need to know:

• Santorum may finally get the bounce that largely eluded him after Iowa, helping him raise money and pique voter interest, the New York Times predicts. His first order of business is staying ahead of Newt Gingrich. After Nevada, he said Gingrich had "had his chance" to beat Romney.

Rick's triple win upends GOP race yet again

(NEWSER) - Colorado's GOP has declared Rick Santorum the winner of the state's presidential caucuses, making last night a clean sweep for the former senator, and a disaster for Mitt Romney's momentum. Santorum scored 40.2% of the vote to Romney's 34.9%, while Newt Gingrich beat Ron Paul for third place with 12.8% to Paul's 11.8%. With the victories in Minnesota and Missouri , Santorum has now won more states than Romney, although all three of last night's contests were largely symbolic. More»