NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fourteen kids were treated at one Colorado emergency room for accidentally ingesting marijuana after the drug became legal for medical use there in late 2009, according to a new study.

In comparison, no children seen for a possible accidental poisoning had pot in their system in the four years before the change in laws, researchers looking back at ER records found.

"These products are now commercially available and have high amounts of THC in them," said Dr. George Wang, who led the new study at Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver.

Medical marijuana is now legal in 18 states and Washington, D.C. Colorado dispensaries sell baked goods, candies and soft drinks made with pot for people with cancer, HIV and severe pain, for example.

Last year, Colorado and Washington State voted to make small amounts of the drug legal for recreational use, as well.

After seeing a couple of young children who got very sick from marijuana, Wang's team looked back at almost 1,400 ER records belonging to kids being treated for unintentional ingestions at Children's Hospital Colorado in 2005 through 2011.

Before October 2009, none of the 790 kids suspected of accidental poisoning tested positive for marijuana in their urine.

After the law changed, 14 out of 588 were found to have eaten or otherwise ingested the drug. Those kids were between 8 months and 12 years old, Wang and his colleagues reported in JAMA Pediatrics.

Eight of those children were admitted to the hospital, including two to the intensive care unit. Most showed up with lack of energy, but one also had low oxygen levels and another trouble breathing.

"The biggest thing we are concerned about is the level of sedation in these kids," Wang told Reuters Health.

"The things that we get scared of are, they get enough that they're so sleepy that it affects how they breathe, or they fall and hit their head."

COOKIES, BROWNIES

"The impact on children is different than it is in adults," said Dr. William Hurley, from the University of Washington School of Medicine and the Washington Poison Center in Seattle.

"Kids get significant depression of their central nervous system - their brain and their breathing centers - and they can end up having us breathe for them," Hurley, who wrote an editorial accompanying the new study, told Reuters Health.

He and his colleagues have also seen a slight increase in kids' marijuana exposures since medical marijuana became legal in Washington.

Hurley said he worries about more ingestions in the future, because Washington has allowed cookies and brownies baked with pot as part of legalizing recreational marijuana.

"We know when we put those products into the environment, we're going to see kids exposed to them," he said.

Dr. Shan Yin, medical director of the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, said the new study can't prove legalizing medical marijuana led more kids to get into the drug.

But, he told Reuters Health, "It's not surprising to me either that with the advent of medical marijuana in Colorado, it would be more freely available in households and that kids could have more access to it."

Yin used to work with some of the authors, but wasn't involved in the new study.

Wang has been trying to get the latest bill on recreational marijuana use in Colorado to include a requirement of child-resistant packaging. In the meantime, he said people who use the drug for medical or recreational reasons should keep it out of reach of children.

"I think everyone can agree that we don't want our kids getting into it," he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/115I1Gu JAMA Pediatrics, online May 27, 2013.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states.

Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis - much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.

Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in start-up money.

The use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use.

"It's a giant market in search of a brand," Shively said of the marijuana industry. "We would be happy if we get 40 percent of it worldwide."

A 2005 United Nations report estimated the global marijuana trade to be valued at $142 billion. http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2005/volume_1_web.pdf

Washington state and Colorado became the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved legalization in November.

Shively laid out his plans, along with his vision for a future in which marijuana will be imported from Mexico, at a Thursday news conference in downtown Seattle.

Joining him was former Mexican President Vicente Fox, a longtime Shively acquaintance who has been an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana. Fox said he was there to show his support for Shively's company but has no financial stake in it.

"What a difference it makes to have Jamen here sitting at my side instead of Chapo Guzman," said Fox, referring to the fact he would rather see Shively selling marijuana legally than the Mexican drug kingpin selling it illegally. "This is the story that has begun to be written here."

Shively told Reuters he hoped Fox would serve an advisory role in his enterprise, dubbed Diego Pellicer after Shively's hemp-producing great grandfather.

The sale of cannabis or marijuana remains illegal in much of the world although countries mainly in Europe and the Americas have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of it. A larger number of countries have decriminalized or legalized cannabis for medical use.

SKEPTICISM

Shively acknowledges that his business plans conflict with U.S. federal law and are complicated by regulations in both Washington state and Colorado. He said he is interested in buying dispensaries that comply with local and state rules and are less likely to attract the scrutiny of authorities.

"If they want to come talk to me, I'll be delighted to meet with them," he said of federal officials. "I'll tell them everything that we're doing and show them all our books."

Washington state's marijuana consultant, Mark Kleiman, said he was skeptical of Shively's plans, and feared that the businessman is seeking to profit off others' addiction.

"It's very hard for me to understand why anybody seriously interested in being in the marijuana business, which after all is against the federal law, would so publicly announce his conspiracy to break that law," said Kleiman, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, referred questions to the Department of Justice headquarters. Department officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Washington state Representative Reuven Carlyle, a Seattle Democrat, sees promise in Shively's initiative. Any industry emerging from the shadows will inevitably undergo consolidation - and thereby simplify the task of regulators, he said.

"The fact that an entrepreneur is publicly pushing the envelope around a branding and value-based pricing opportunity, I would say that's in the water in Seattle," said Carlyle, chairman of the House Finance Committee. "That's in our DNA ... We could have predicted that as much as the rain."

Shively said he has already acquired the rights to the Northwest Patient Resource Center, a medical marijuana operation that includes two Seattle store fronts. He added that he was close to acquiring another dispensary in Colorado, as well as two more each in Washington state and California, with the owners given the option to retain a stake in their businesses.

"We've created the first risk-mitigated vehicles for investing directly in this business opportunity," he said.

Shively said he ultimately plans to create separate medical and recreational-use marijuana brands. Shively said he also plans to launch a study of the effectiveness of concentrated cannabis oil in the treatment of cancer and other illnesses.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Andrew Hay)

This month, tuber processing giant J.R. Simplot Co. asked the U.S. government to approve five varieties of biotech potatoes. They're engineered not to develop ugly black bruises. McDonald's, which gets many of its fries from Simplot, rejects those. They're also designed to have less of a natural but potentially cancer-causing neurotoxin, acrylamide.

Much has changed in 12 years, according to the Boise-based company.

Unlike transgenic varieties Monsanto commercialized in the 1990s using genes from synthetic bacteria to kill insect pests, Simplot's new "Innate"-brand potatoes use only potato genes.

Haven Baker, Simplot's Yale- and Harvard University-trained vice-president of plant sciences, said his scientists journeyed inside the vegetable's genome to "silence" unwanted attributes, while making sure it remained 100 percent potato.

"You'll never get as much beneficial effect from traditional plant breeding," he said. "And it'll take twice as long."

Those in the industry remember Monsanto's ill-fated foray and say Simplot's major challenge in avoiding a similar fate is ensuring its product is acceptable among growers, processors and, ultimately, people eating it.

"Unless your customers are prepared to embrace this product, it's not going to be successful," said Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission that represents Idaho's $3 billion industry. His group, whose website currently boasts Idaho potatoes aren't genetically engineered, hasn't weighed in on Simplot's endeavor.

But Muir does think the company is making the right moves: Reaching out to the industry, as well as consumers who may eventually buy Innate potatoes as big, un-bruised bakers or golden fries. "They're taking all the appropriate steps."

As the USDA and Food and Drug Administration embark on vetting Simplot's potatoes, the agencies are nearing completion of a similar review of a genetically engineered apple created by a Canadian company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, to resist browning when cut.

The apple industry has opposed Okanagan's "Arctic" apple, on grounds it could create marketing headaches for growers of unmodified apples. Christian Schlect, the Northwest Horticultural Council president, said he hopes the potatoes go to market first.

"We'd just as soon the potato people take the initial foray on marketing this technology, and we'll follow their experience," he said.

In fact, the two products, should they win the government's blessing, could hit customers about the same time, 2015 or 2016.

Baker said with Simplot's new potatoes, growers would earn more money with less wastage from bruising, something that can affect up to 5 percent of their harvest. Additionally, the spuds are designed to produce acrylamide levels so low they skirt California's strict, voter-mandated cancer labels on french fries and potato chips, he said.

McDonald's didn't return a call seeking comment about the tubers. A big Simplot processing rival, ConAgra, says its potatoes are not genetically engineered.

Twelve years on, St. Louis-based Monsanto remains tight lipped about jettisoning its "New Leaf" potatoes engineered, among other things, to kill Colorado potato beetles. That was a business decision "not influenced by any negative reaction to genetically-modified organisms," spokeswoman Carly Scaduto said.

But experts say plunging interest including from Simplot, which told farmers in Idaho and North Dakota in 2000 to quit planting New Leaf potatoes after restaurants like McDonald's banished them from their fryers drove the spuds from the fields. Monsanto's biotech potatoes, planted on 55,000 acres in North America in 1996, disappeared by 2002.

Joe Guenther, a University of Idaho professor of agricultural economics, in 2011 won funding from Simplot to survey potato industry players about re-introducing genetically engineered potatoes into the food chain. His conclusion: It could succeed, provided potatoes were modified with potato genes, not foreign microorganisms that in the 1990s spawned terms like "frankenfood."

"The Monsanto product crossed that species line," Guenther said. "The exciting thing about the Simplot product is, it stays within the potato species."

Another thing Guenther's 2011 report said would help was backing from an environmental group, something that remains a scarce commodity. Groups worried about corporations commandeering potato genes a decade ago remain no less alarmed.

Bill Freese, science policy analyst with Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety, said Simplot's potatoes join a litany of other genetically engineered crops that don't face rigorous-enough USDA or FDA testing.

While Simplot's Baker said 20 field trials demonstrate Innate potatoes exhibit characteristics virtually identical to their unmodified cousins, Freese painted a darker picture: Genetic engineering is a noisy, unpredictable process, where the best-intentionedgenome tinkering could be accompanied by unforeseen effects on human health and the environment.

Freese said the absence of long-term animal feeding trials and labeling requirements is also cause for worry, since potatoes are staple crops people eat directly. Freese predicted Innate potatoes will fail, just like Monsanto's did.

"The question is why do they continue to so miscalculate public perception?" he said. "The biotech approach is to change the food on a genetic level in quite frankly risky ways with inadequate regulation to adapt a crop to an industrial food system that's really unhealthy in so many ways."

Simplot's Baker pointed to, among other sources, the FDA, which says genetically-engineered foods it reviews meets the same safety requirements as those from traditionally-bred plants. "The nutrients and allergens are no different from conventional potatoes," he said.

The Washington, D.C.-based National Potato Commission, representing 45,000 U.S. growers, learned of Simplot's plans several months ago. Chief Executive Officer John Keeling said it supports scientific advancements to improve potatoes, but has advised Simplot to avoid past mistakes.

For instance, some Monsanto tubers found their way into Japan, where they weren't approved. After that, Japan-bound U.S. potatoes had to be tested, he said.

"If some parts of the marketplace are saying they don't want Innate technology and others want it, you've got to be able to address both of those issues." Keeling said. "Simplot seems to have taken to heart the thoughts that we had."

Simplot is seeking approval in Japan, as well as Canada, Mexico and South Korea.

A sharp new photo released by the (ESO) today (June 3) depicts the suspected gas giant (called HD 95086 b) circling its young star (named HD 95086) in infrared light. The star has been removed from the image to allow the planet shown as a bright blue dot at the bottom left of the picture to shine through.

HD 95086 b was sighted by ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile. Based on the planet's brightness, scientists estimate that it is only about four or five times more massive than Jupiter. []

Most exoplanets are discovered via indirect means, such as detecting a dip in a star's light when a planet passes in front of it, blocking part of its face, or finding a slight wobble in a star's movement caused by the gravitational tug of planets orbiting it.

"Direct imaging of planets is an extremely challenging technique that requires the most advanced instruments, whether ground-based or in space," Julien Rameau, an astronomer at theInstitute of Astrophysics and Planetology in France and lead author of the study announcing the discovery,said in a statement. "Only a few planets have been directly observed so far, making every single discovery an important milestone on the road to understanding giant planets and how they form."

Another photo from ESO shows the star and its planet in context with other stars in the southern constellation of Carina, the keel.

The planet orbits its star at about twice the distance from the sun toand about 56 times the distance between Earth and the sun. The blue circle in the photo represents the distance between the sun and Neptune.

HD 95086 is relatively young star at only 10 million to 17 million years old, making the formation of theand the dusty disc surrounding the star potentially intriguing to researchers.

"[The planet's] current location raises questions about its formation process," Anne-Marie Lagrange, one of Rameau's team members, said in a statement. "It either grew by assembling the rocks that form the solid core and then slowly accumulated gas from the environment to form the heavy atmosphere, or started forming from a gaseous clump that arose from gravitational instabilities in the disc. Interactions between the planet and the disc itself or with other planets may have also moved the planet from where it was born."

The research will be published in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Follow Miriam Kramer onand . Follow us on ,and . Original article on .

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) today applauded the United States Senate for the passage of The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 in a 69-27 vote. The bipartisan legislation gives states the authority to choose to require online sellers to collect sales taxes just like brick-and-mortar retailers already do. The bill, which provides a common-sense solution to a decades-old problem that has created a distorted marketplace, is designed to promote fairness and compliance, without burdening free enterprise.

"The shopping center industry would like to thank Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) for their resolute dedication to moving this critical piece of legislation through the Senate," said Michael P. Kercheval, president and CEO of ICSC. "The Marketplace Fairness Act creates a fair marketplace that protects retailers, restores the states' ability to manage their own fiscal policies and strengthens the United States' free enterprise system."

Sixty-nine Senators from both parties voted in favor of S. 743, demonstrating the tremendous momentum for creating a fair, competitive marketplace. The bipartisan passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act sends a strong message to the House of Representatives, where a companion bill, H.R. 684, was introduced in February.

"For the past two decades, the retail environment has dramatically changed. To keep pace with those changes, our laws must evolve," said Betsy Laird, senior vice president of global public policy of ICSC. "The Senate acknowledged this through the passage of this legislation and we now look to the House to continue the momentum and bring H.R. 684 to a vote."

ICSC has promoted sales tax fairness for over a decade, advocating that a "sale is a sale" regardless of whether the purchase takes place on Main Street, at shopping centers, over the Internet or with a smart phone. For more information about sales tax fairness and how the current sales tax system is unable to support the 21st century retail marketplace please visit .

About ICSC Founded in 1957, ICSC is the premier global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its more than 58,000 members in over 90 countries include shopping center owners, retailers, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, and brokers as well as academics and public officials. As the global industry trade association, ICSC links with more than 25 national and regional shopping center councils throughout the world. For more information, visit

SOURCE International Council of Shopping Centers

Sanchez was heading towards a second career no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning before Joe Mauer punched a single up the middle to deny the Venezuelan a chance to become the 28th pitcher in Major League history with multiple no-hitters.

The win catapulted the Tigers (27-19) back to the top of the American League Central, in front of the Cleveland Indians (27-20), while Minnesota (18-27) remain rooted to the bottom.

Detroit's charge up the standings was aided by Boston's John Lackey, who also pitched an impressive game to lead the Red Sox to an 8-1 victory over the Indians.

Lackey allowed just two hits and one unearned run over seven innings, striking out eight, while Mike Carp helped the offence with a three-run homer in the second.

Boston improved to 29-20 to keep pace with the Yankees (29-18) in the American League East after the Bronx Bombers proved too strong for Tampa Bay (24-23) in a 9-4 win.

However, it was not all good news for the Yankees, who lost Curtis Granderson and pitcher David Phelps to injuries after both were struck by fast-moving balls.

Granderson suffered a hand fracture and will be sidelined for at least a month while Phelps has some bad bruising but should be on the mound for his next scheduled start.

In the National League, World Series champions San Francisco fell out of a three-way tie at the top of the West division with a 5-0 loss to Colorado, who remain level with Arizona after the Diamondbacks beat San Diego (21-26) 5-2.

The Rockies and Diamondbacks improved to 27-21 while the Giants slipped back to 26-22 with the loss.

Washington pitcher Jordan Zimmermann grabbed an eighth win of the season as his Nationals (25-23) took down Philadelphia (23-25) 5-2.

(Reporting by Ben Everill in Del Mar, California; Editing by John O'Brien)

The Spurs started fast and finished strong as they seized the Western Conference Finals with a 4-0 best-of-seven triumph that put them back in the NBA finals for the first time since 2007.

Parker was sensational in making 15 of his 21 field goal attempts and Tim Duncan added 15 and eight rebounds in the clinching game.

San Antonio has earned an extended rest period as they now await the winner between Miami and Indiana in the East for a championship matchup that does not begin until June 6.

Having squandered a 2-0 series lead in last season's West finals, San Antonio were determined to finish the job this time around.

The veteran squad took a 24-14 lead after the first quarter and did not blink when the Grizzlies made a late push.

Memphis, playing in their first ever conference finals, played from behind most of the night but pulled to within 76-73 early in the fourth quarter.

Parker responded with a three-pointer, Duncan added a quick dunk to push the advantage back to eight and San Antonio were on their way.

Reserve Quincy Pondexter led the Grizzlies with 22 points, Marc Gasol had 14 and Zach Randolph added 13.

Memphis had gone undefeated at home through the first two playoff series before being beaten twice by the Spurs to end their season. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles. Editing by Patrick Johnston)

The Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament had approved the law last month and sent it to the Supreme Constitutional Court to check the legality of the voting procedures for a new lower house.

Opposition politicians had denounced the text of the revised election law approved by parliament and repeated threats to boycott the vote.

The court ruled that four provisions of the bill were unconstitutional, a judicial source said.

In its decision, the court took issue with parliament's removal of a long-standing ban on religious slogans in electoral campaigning.

The ruling said that failing to include a specific clause in the law banning religious slogans could "undermine national unity." The bill will now be sent back to parliament for review.

The ruling is the latest sign of friction between the judiciary, which Islamist lawmakers accuse of being loyal to deposed leader Hosni Mubarak and obstructing elections and legislation, and President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mursi, an Islamist elected last year, originally called elections for April but postponed them when the court annulled the decree setting the dates.

Mursi has said elections could now begin in October, completing the democratic transition from Mubarak's rule.

A separate court ruling last year dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-led lower chamber elected in 2011-12.

Egypt has been plagued by political instability since Mubarak's ouster, scaring away investors and tourists who are needed to keep the economy afloat.

Outside parliament, baton-wielding police pushed back activists who were protesting against a controversial judicial reform law that was being discussed inside the chamber.

Parliament voted to continue discussions of the law, angering secular MPs who wore black sashes condemning it.

Islamist lawmakers allied to the Brotherhood are pushing the bill, which would force out more than 3,000 judges by lowering the retirement age.

The bill has also angered liberal, leftist and ultra-conservative Islamist opposition groups which accuse the Brotherhood of trying to control state institutions rather than pressing genuine reforms. The Brotherhood denies this.

Mursi has faced a revolt against Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges and he has alienated some of his aides.

Earlier this month, senior Egyptian judges halted talks with Mursi on judicial reforms after parliament decided to discuss the proposed laws despite presidential promises to seek consensus first.

(Reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Michael Georgy and Mike Collett-White)

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told The Associated Press on Monday that there were no plans to use the system at upcoming races "so we'll have ample time to review."

Fox indefinitely suspended use of the system after the nylon rope fell onto the track about a quarter of the way through Sunday's 600-mile race. Charlotte Motor Speedway said 10 people were injured when part of the rope landed in the grandstand; three were taken to hospitals. All were checked out and released soon after.

Several drivers, including then-leader Kyle Busch, reported damage to their cars from the rope.

Fox was expected to release more information about the breakdown later Monday. The network said the system was used successfully at the Daytona 500 and last week's Sprint All-Star race in Charlotte.

Fox's final NASCAR telecast this year comes Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Tharp said NASCAR would let the network determine what went wrong.

"We'll sync up with them on what they have learned this week and go from there," he said.

The network explained how the drive rope moves the camera back and forth and failed near its turn one connection. The camera, it said in a statement, did not come down "because the guide ropes acted as designed."

The pictures such cameras provide can be extraordinary. But in this case, the failure brought confusion and chaos to the racers and the fans.

Coca-Cola 600 winner Kevin Harvick thought he was imagining things when he noticed the black rope on the track. He was among the lucky ones who escaped without damage. Busch said he heard a "thunk" when he ran over it and knew he'd have problems.

Busch used a cellphone to take a picture of the mangled metal around his front, right-side wheel so his team could figure out how to repair the damage.

Marcos Ambrose dragged a piece of the rope that got caught up in his car behind him on the track. Mark Martin also reported problems after driving over the rope.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for about 30 minutes and allowed teams back to their pits to get their cars back to race trim.

NASCAR first threw a caution flag before two red flags came out. It eventually allowed the cars to come into the pits, giving crews 15 minutes to work on their cars.

During the break, Busch's crew frantically worked to repair several problems to the right front wheel well. After completing repairs, the crew slapped high-fives as the car rolled back on the track.

Busch remained competitive and was running in the top five at the midpoint of the race. But his night ended in frustration when his engine blew up on lap 253. He said the engine problem was not related the rope damage. He thanked NASCAR for how it handled the unique stoppage.

"I commend NASCAR for taking the initiative and letting us repair our damaged cars from the issue we had," Busch said.

Busch said he never saw the nylon rope.

Ambrose wound up ninth behind Harvick, the second top-10 finish of the year for the Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Kasey Kahne led 156 laps, most of the night, and was second to Harvick. He was as bewildered as everyone else with the TV cable across the track.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I came around turn four, saw it wrapped around Kyle's car, hit mine. I thought I was seeing things."

The camera hung in place over the large painted logo on the grass between the start-finish line and pit road.

Fox broadcaster Chris Myers apologized during the telecast several times to fans, drivers and race teams for the disruption. The network's statement offered "a sincere 'thank you' to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keep us informed on this developing situation."

Busch wasn't sure anybody had seen that happen before and offered a solution: "Maybe now we can rid of that thing."