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Background and aims Prohibitions on producing, distributing and selling cannabis are loosening in various jurisdictions around the world. This paper describes the diversification of cannabis supply laws and discusses the challenges to and opportunities for learning from these changes. Methods We document changes in cannabis supply laws that de jure legalized cannabis production for medical and/or non-medical purposes (excluding industrial hemp) in Australasia, Europe, North America and South America. We also highlight challenges to evaluating these legal changes based on our experiences studying cannabis laws and policies in the United States. Findings As of August 2016, two countries have passed laws to legalize large-scale cannabis production for non-medical purposes at the national (Uruguay) or subnational level (four US states). At least nine other countries legally allow (or will soon allow) cannabis to be supplied for medicinal purposes. Most of the changes in cannabis supply laws have occurred since 2010. The data available in most countries are inadequate for rigorously evaluating the changes in cannabis supply laws. Conclusion The evidence base for assessing changes in cannabis supply laws remains weak. Efforts should focus upon collecting information about quantities consumed and market transactions as well as validating self-report surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with doctor Judith Mackay is presented. When asked on how she had come up with the idea of creating a series of health atlases, she refers to the passion she developed for morphing complex health statistics into formats that can be easily understood. She states that the most important influence was the 2009 photograph of Bill Gates holding the second edition of "The Tabacco Atlas." Mackay discusses her education, early career and trends in the tabacco control efforts.

The authors reflect on the inhumane treatment of drug users who were detained to compulsory drug detention centers mainly in China and Malaysia. They relate that among the documented cruelty in those centers include sexual assault, severe beatings, and forced testing for HIV. They also discuss set of principles by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2010 on international standards for drug users' treatment.