The federal government's annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows the rate of illicit drug use rose from 8% in 2008 to 8.7% in 2009. And the government has decided that the cause of all this snorting and huffing and popping and shooting is marijuana. National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske tells CBS Radio News that young people are being exposed to "mixed messages" about pot because of growing consensus that it has medicinal properties. In other words, they learned it from watching you cancer sufferers. more ›

All the papers are asking where Spider-Man was when Mary Jane Watson Kirstin Dunst's belongings were burgled on August 9th. The actress, who was in town filming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, was staying at the SoHo Grand Hotel and had just left her suite with some others before the crime took place. What was in her room was a $13,000 handbag, $2500 in cash, ID and credit cards, two digital cameras, a cell phone and an iPod. more ›

At the end of this month, your friendly neighborhood Spider Man will be all over New York for...Spider Man week! A five-borough-wide celebration (marketing ploy) featuring a ton of live events, screenings, parties and exhibits. The city has been central to the Marvel Comics legend since Spidey's beginning in 1962, so it only makes sense to launch the latest movie here. more ›

So that's how they spend their bonuses! The Post this morning gives details on the bust last week of a brothel on Greenwich St. that catered to Wall Streeters. Mary Jane Winkler was arrested for running an art gallery that police allege "doubled as a one-stop sex shop for lunch-hour lotharios" after undercover cops were offered sex for money. more ›

- And tomorrow is a big day: There's the Mermaid Parade tomorrow afternoon and the Gothamist-A Hamburger Today Burger Party at Water Taxi Beach in the evening! more ›

- We understand the babies are some kind of fashion statement these days, but for the love of god, keep your tots out of the bars. more ›

So you've got 600 pounds of marijuana in the back of a rental truck. You are taking the drugs, which are worth an estimated $1 million on the street, from New York back home to New Jersey. You can take the tunnel or the lovely George Washington Bridge. Since the bridge is such a looker the choice is obvs, right? You choose the GWB. At least that's what 23-year-old Shawn Chance did early yesterday morning. The only problem was that Mr. Chance wasn't very lucky yesterday, or at least didn't have his reading glasses on. Though trucks are required to go on the upper level he instead drove on the lower one. When cops pulled him over they found 11 crates stuffed with sweet mary jane, making it the biggest bust at a Port Authority crossing this year. more ›

The Post has been loving the Julia Diaco story since the beginning. They dubbed her the "Pot Princess" and today's headline, "See Ya Tater, Pot Princess" certainly has a bit of fondness for the co-ed drug dealer. Today, the Post runs a photograph of Diaco going to court (left), looking quite polished and put together, and emphasizes that Diaco's family wealth played a part in her getting a sweet probation deal. A Legal Aid attorney tells the Post, "I would love for our clients to be offered the same deal. But Legal Aid wouldn't be representing a princess." Well, of course - money talks in this world. It's not right, but that's what happens. Diaco's lawyer says the probation at Clear View is not "the lap of luxury" and notes that while Diaco was selling a variety of drugs, Mary Jane was her biggest problem: "She had a very heavy marijuana habit. The morning began with marijuana, and the day ended with marijuana." Gothamist hopes that Diaco manages it through probation; she's the most high-profile bust of a college drug dealer we've heard of, and let's face it, they are a dime a dozen. We'd actually be interested in Law & Order: Class of 2009 where undercovers have to attend NYU, Columbia, Fordham, St. John's, Brooklyn College, Hunter, you name it - it's totally Law & Order meets 21 Jump Street. more ›