Great green hope: The big picture on legal marijuana

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The biggest unclaimed territory in the consumer discretionary universe is cannabis. Even though cannabis remains illegal under federal law, Americans spent $6 billion in 2017 on legal recreational and medical marijuana.

Why it matters: Americans may have spent a total of $50 billion on recreational cannabis last year, according to the best estimates. That leaves enormous room for the legal market to grow, even if cannabis consumption remains flat.

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You can bring your weed to the LA airport now

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LAX is totally cool with passengers packing it in their carry-ons—but if it’s illegal where you land, that’s on you.

It looks like travelers in Los Angeles won’t have to cram their weed inside balled-up socks or stash it in their ibuprofen bottles next time they fly—because LAX is totally chill about bringing pot into the airport now, ABC 13 reports.

This week, Los Angeles International Airport posted a new marijuana policy on its website, announcing that LAX and the LAPD will now let people stroll onto their flights carrying cannabis, as long as it’s under the legal limit.

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Engineers discover a glaringly simple way to detect bombs and hidden weapons

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How did we not know this already?

You probably use Wi-Fi on the regular to connect your smartphone, computer, or other electronic device to the glory of the world wide web.

But soon, that same technology could also keep you safe in real-life public areas.

According to a peer-reviewed study led by researchers from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, ordinary Wi-Fi can effectively and cheaply detect weapons, bombs, or explosive chemicals contained within bags.

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Eye in the sky: Drones are being taught to spot violence in crowds

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Researchers are developing a real-time drone survelliance system to identify violence in crowds before it occurs.

Imagine your every move being watched and analysed by drones designed to predict – and stop – violent behaviour.

It sounds like a scene from Black Mirror, but researchers are trialling a drone surveillance system that does just that – and it could come to a festival near you.

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A single police drone has seriously impacted crime in a Mexican city

Drones are finding a place in so many industries lately that it’s not much of a surprise that police departments have also been testing the technology for crime-fighting operations.

The city of Ensenada in Mexico, for example, has recently achieved positive results using just a single quadcopter, Wired reported this week. The flying machine has helped to cut overall crime in the city by as much as 10 percent, including a 30-percent drop in burglaries.

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The next frontier of police surveillance is drones

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A major drone company and a major police-camera company are teaming up, and the possibilities are frightening.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.

A company that makes stun guns and body cameras is teaming up with a company that makes drones to sell drones to police departments, and that might not even be the most worrisome part. The line of drones from Axon and DJI is called the Axon Air, and the devices will be linked to Axon’s cloud-based database for law enforcement, Evidence.com, which is used to process body-camera data too. And it could open a vast new frontier for police surveillance.

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Japan’s prisons area haven for elderly women

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Lonely seniors are shoplifting in search of the community and stability of jail.

Every aging society faces distinct challenges. But Japan, with the world’s oldest population (27.3 percent of its citizens are 65 or older, almost twice the share in the U.S.), has been dealing with one it didn’t foresee: senior crime. Complaints and arrests involving elderly people, and women in particular, are taking place at rates above those of any other demographic group. Almost 1 in 5 women in Japanese prisons is a senior. Their crimes are usually minor—9 in 10 senior women who’ve been convicted were found guilty of shoplifting.

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The robocops are here

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As robotic police head out on the street of Dubai, we look at the technology that’s set to revolutionise law and order.

Visitors to Dubai’s busy shopping arcades may be surprised to find themselves under the protection of a humanoid police robot. Though it has no mouth, the expressionless bot communicates in Arabic and English, and helps tourists navigate the city, as well as connecting them directly with police services via a touchscreen.

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Beijing police are using facial-recognition glasses to identify car passengers and number plates

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A promotion video shows an actor wearing LLVision facial recognition smart glasses during a demonstration at the company’s office in Beijing, China February 28, 2018.

Beijing police began testing facial-recognition glasses last week.

They appear to be similar to those first used by police in a Henan railway station last month.

Continue reading… “Beijing police are using facial-recognition glasses to identify car passengers and number plates”

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