Most online marijuana dispensaries in the US lack proper age verification features, a study has warned.

But researchers in New York City found only half of popular online stores require Government ID and others only ask for self-reported birth dates.

Around one in five offer delivery across state lines, even when the recipient lived in a state where cannabis was illegal. 

Writing in the paper, the authors said: ‘Pediatricians and caregivers must be aware of the widespread availability of online dispensaries and potential dissemination of marijuana to minors.’ 

The link between recreational marijuana use and alcohol consumption in recent years has been most significant among younger adults 18 to 24 

Writing in the paper, they authors said: ‘Pediatricians and caregivers must be aware of the widespread availability of online dispensaries and potential dissemination of marijuana to minors’ (stock image)

It comes despite scientists warning of the potential harms to adolescents and young adults, saying it can impair brain development, harm academic performance and be a gateway drug to stronger substances.

Dr Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has previously told DailyMail.com young people should avoid the drug completely until their brains have fully developed.

Surveys suggest six percent of 12th graders use marijuana daily.

For the new study, published today in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York searched online to find digital cannabis dispensaries.

They used Google search terms such as ‘buy marijuana online’ and ‘order weed online’ to find the most popular dispensaries.

Each website was then analyzed for age restrictions on viewing products and making a purchase. The study was carried out from April to June this year.

Of the eighty online dispensaries based in 32 states they identified, researchers said government-issued ID for age verification was only required by 40 of them.

Eight relied on self-reported birthdates, while one each used an age-checker website or address proving residency.

Three used a selfie photo to confirm someone’s age.

The scientists said 15 sites made no formal attempt to verify someone’s age while they were purchasing marijuana. 

Out of the sites, fifty were also selling edibles in colorful packaging, which the researchers warned could be attractive to minors. In the past, doctors have warned they have also found packaging disguising edibles as similar to Doritos or Gushers — helping to make them attractive to children.

The names of the sites were not revealed, but at least one was based in a state where the sale of weed is not legal — North Carolina. 

The above shows cannabis use across American states. Twenty-one states and DC have legalized it for recreational use in addition to medicinal use, while nearly all now allow it to be used for medicinal purposes

The researchers, led by pediatrician Ananya Terala, wrote in the paper: ‘This cross-sectional study found that most online marijuana dispensaries lacked adequate age verification features and most accepted nontraceable payment methods, enabling youth to hide their transactions.

‘Despite regulations, availability of marijuana products remains seemingly high, exacerbated by potential shipment across state lines. 

‘It is imperative to require strict age verification procedures prior to cannabis purchases online and to establish stringent surveillance of online marijuana dispensaries to protect youth. 

Most recently in June, Minnesota became the 24th state to legalize marijuana for recreational use for those over 21 years old. The law will come into effect next year.

But there are now signs of pushback nationwide — with Oklahoma, North and South Dakota and Arkansas all rejecting legalizing the drug within the last year. Only six states ban the drug outright.

Parents have been coming forward in states where the drug has received the green light to warn it is nothing like the ‘Woodstock weed’ used in the 1980s hippy movement and is now much stronger.

It comes amid reports the legal marijuana industry is on the ‘verge of collapse’ after being hamstrung by high prices and a thriving illicit pot market.

Bumper online demand helped toymaker Hornby rebound over the summer following a disappointing result last year.

Internet sales from April to the end of August jumped by more than a third on the equivalent period last year, the Margate-based company told investors on Thursday.

Consequently, revenues and margins were stronger and commensurate with the firm’s predictions for a ‘low double-digit’ expansion in turnover for the 2024 financial year.

Staying on track: Toymaker Hornby revealed online  sales from April to the end of August jumped by more than a third on the equivalent period last year

However, the model railways manufacturer cautioned the result would depend on its performance during the critical Christmas trading season.

The group’s sales rose by 2.5 per cent to £55.1million for the 12 months ending March 2023, which was dampened by softer-than-forecast demand between October and December amid an uncertain economic backdrop.

Although trade improved in the final quarter, rising fixed costs meant Hornby swung to a £5.9million loss, having recorded a £1.5million profit the prior year.

In addition, the company’s debts climbed following an excessive stock build-up as manufacturing output grew to its highest-ever levels.

Even though progress had been made in curtailing old stock, Hornby acknowledged that inventory volumes remained high in late August due to the planned accumulation of new supplies ahead of the peak Autumn sales period.

Founded in 1901 by Liverpudlian businessman Frank Hornby, the company’s model train brands include Jouef, Lima and Electrotran, but it also sells Scalextric car racing sets, Corgi cars and Airfix model planes.

During the previous decade, the firm financially struggled as it endured several years of losses caused by declining interest in model collecting, issues with foreign suppliers and tougher competition from rivals.

This led to a turnaround plan launched in 2016, which included a share placing, a scaling back of overseas operations, and cuts to product ranges and investments.

Phoenix Asset Management acquired a majority stake in Hornby six years ago and appointed a new chairman and chief executive to steer the recovery.

Sales only began a significant revival when tough lockdown restrictions introduced in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic led many families to take up new hobbies.

Hornby shares were flat at 16.5p on early Wednesday afternoon but have slumped by around 42 per cent so far this year.

Shares in an online gaming group co-owned by David Beckham surged after it signed another deal with Sky.

Guild Esports, whose teams of video game professionals compete against rivals for money, appointed Sky Glass as its official television partner.

Sky Glass is the streaming TV service from Sky that does not require a satellite dish.

Result: Former England and Manchester United captain David Beckham (pictured) has a stake Guild Esports worth around £185,000

Alongside the new deal – which will see Guild receive increased sponsorship fees for years two and three of the existing agreement – Sky will invest a ‘six-figure’ sum to refurbish the Sky Guild Gaming Centre where the company is based in east London.

Shares in Guild Esports rose 11.1 per cent, or 0.08p, to 0.75p. 

That gave the company a value of £4.7million – with former England and Manchester United captain Beckham’s near-4 per cent stake worth around £185,000.

Boss Jasmine Skee said: ‘Since first partnering with Sky in September 2022, our relationship has flourished. 

‘With our shared vision and commitment to esports excellence, we are setting the gold standard for partnerships in the esports realm.’

SCI-FI & FANTASY

A gorgeously detailed story of invasion, negotiation and diplomacy

THE BLUE, BEAUTIFUL WORLD 

by Karen Lord (Gollancz £20, 256pp)

A gorgeously detailed story of invasion, negotiation and diplomacy. The background is bleakly familiar: rising sea and temperatures are changing the face of the planet while galloping tech developments infiltrate every aspect of life.

The game-changer is the presence of off-planet visitors, who, contrary to an intergalactic treaty, are jostling for influence.

The tone is mesmerically cool and elliptical, but the story grips as a cast including a freakishly empathic pop megastar, a tech wizard and a global council of gilded youths, try to plot the planet’s new future.

Galactically speaking, Earth might be a hopeless laggard, but what secrets linger in the blue depths of the ocean?

Of course, there’s no honour among the thieves who want his stash, so who can mild-mannered Charlie trust? 

STARTER VILLAIN 

by John Scalzi (Tor £18.99, 272pp)

What does it take to be a villain? An underground lair? Check. Satellite-busting super weapon? Exuberant wickedness? Nazi loot? Minions? Check, check, check.

When Charlie Fitzer, failed journalist and hopeful bar owner, gets tangled up with his late uncle’s legacy, he finds his relative’s business extended beyond carpark management into the farthest reaches of criminality.

As a result, his life is threatened, and he’s whisked away to a remote island where he’s guarded by rude dolphins. And his cat, Hera, is revealed as a trained undercover operative.

Of course, there’s no honour among the thieves who want his stash, so who can mild-mannered Charlie trust? Prepare to be delighted and surprised.

At last we have a sequel to The Book Of Lost Things

THE LAND OF LOST THINGS 

by John Connolly (Hodder & Stoughton £18.99 416pp)

At last we have a sequel to The Book Of Lost Things, Connolly’s standout lyrical fantasy from 17 years ago.

Tragedy strikes Ceres, a single mother, when a car crash puts her daughter into a coma.

The sense of searing grief and aching loss is carried into Ceres’ quest for answers, as she finds a gateway into a blighted land of fairy-tale characters and mythical creatures: some good, other lethally bad.

Ceres finds no magic potions nor easy answers.

Instead, we venture with her on a unique and compelling journey to find some kind of resolution.

Masters of Death

by Olivie Blake (Tor £20, 416pp)

It’s said that the only things you can rely on are death and taxes, but what if Death goes AWOL? Well, then it’s up to an ill-assorted cast of angels, demons, reapers and bitchy ghosts to sort out the mess.

Death’s secret is curled up in the blighted past of a super-rich family, while the sale of their mega-mansion is left to Viola Marek, Chicago’s most delightful estate agent with a love of blood cocktails and a tendency to cough up furballs after dark.

With a high-stakes game risking eternal oblivion, dialogue that crackles like an old-school Hollywood comedy, and a mystery to solve, Blake dazzles yet again. A winner.

The Kindness

by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Riverrun £30, 816pp)

The small town of Norrtalje is a place of fragile relationships, held together by Pokemon games, bowling and little acts of kindness. But what happens if that kindness is eaten by a monster?

Like Stephen King, Lindqvist is all too aware of how evil works on good people, and when a shipping container of dead refugees is dumped on the town’s foreshore, everything falls apart. Six characters in all, including Max and Siw with strange supernatural powers, and big-hearted Anna from a gangster family, must uncover what’s wrong in the town, but more importantly, find out what’s wrong with them. Warm-hearted, unflinching, utterly immersive.

Bride of the Tornado

by James Kennedy (Quirk £15.99, 336pp)

Strap yourselves in for a super-storm of psycho-sexual intensity: American gothic, full-blown horror, wrapped up in an adolescent coming-of-age tale.

In a small mid-western town, it’s Tornado day and everyone is counting on the services of the Tornado Killer, a raggedy kid with funny eyes that one teenage girl is strangely attracted to.

But as the tornadoes rage across the plains, and the town hunkers down, she discovers the real danger lies within.

What are those mysterious, scratched symbols? Who is that gigantic bare-breasted woman? And why are teenage girls being offered up to the vile Mr Z?

Don’t try to understand, just get swept up and enjoy the ride.

Call for the Dead

by John le Carré (Penguin Modern Classics £9.99, 176pp)

With this, his first novel, John le Carré introduces us to George Smiley, a short, fat, bespectacled intelligence officer whose shambolic appearance belies a talent for detecting what others fail to see or choose to ignore.

The story opens with Smiley in trouble. Having cleared a middle-ranking civil servant as a security risk, the man is found shot dead, having apparently taken his own life. In defiance of his superiors, who are keen to close the case, Smiley embarks on his own investigation.

With the help of Inspector Mendel, a stolid policeman on the edge of retirement, he enters the shadowy world of international subterfuge, where violence is second nature to the hunters of state secrets.

Smiley’s task is made harder by his realisation that a former friend and ally is now his chief antagonist. With Call for the Dead, John le Carré was established as the leading writer of authentic spy fiction.

The Wheel Spins

by Ethel Lina White (British Library Crime Classics £9.99, 256pp)

Forget the film, read the book. When Alfred Hitchcock purloined the basic plot of The Wheel Spins for his classic 1938 movie, The Lady Vanishes, he did no favours to Ethel Lina White, whose original work, battered by screen competition, fell from sight. But there is a big difference between the two versions.

Whereas Hitchcock made the disappearance of a tweedy governess on a transcontinental train into a spy story, the novel is more a psychological battle of wits between Iris, a fiercely independent young lady, and her fellow passengers. Why do they deny the existence of Miss Froy? Could it be that Iris is suffering from delusions?

There is a doctor on board intent on persuading her to rest and to accept the support of a young admirer who is equally convinced that she needs medical help.

How Iris comes through it all to rescue Miss Froy is a fabulous masterwork of frustration in a mental and intellectual battle against the odds.

Murder in Merrywell 

by Jane Bettany (HQ £8.99, 320pp)

Emerging from a painful divorce, ex-journalist Violet Brewster moves to the Peak District for a fresh start. Hoping to make a living in video production, her first commission is to record the history of the local parish.

Long-standing residents seem only too happy to share their memories of people and places. But not all is easy going for our intrepid sleuth.

When she starts to ask questions about the unexplained disappearance of a woman 40 years earlier, there are signs of hostility. Ignoring advice to mind her own business, Violet redoubles her efforts, undeterred even when an elderly villager, willing to share long-held secrets, is found dead.

The problem with cosy crime is that much of it is so laid back as to induce slumber. Happily, Jane Bettany triumphs over this hazard with a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful story.

Subversive and sweet, incredibly funny and, somehow, very serious

SCI FI & FANTASY

TRANSLATION STATE 

by Ann Leckie (Orbit £20, 432pp)

Poor old Reet Hluid has been adopted by humans, but worries that recurring carnivorous dreams suggest he’s a fearsome Presger translator?

Meanwhile, translator Qven has spent a childhood eating his fellows, but now wants to rebel.

How to explain the delightful weirdness of Leckie’s Imperial Radch universe, where identity is all?

Subversive and sweet, incredibly funny and, somehow, very serious, you’ll believe that the future of the universe depends on how these pressing issues play out.

A DAY OF FALLEN NIGHT 

by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury £18.99, 880pp)

Sweeping, epic, gorgeous . . . the latest from Shannon is all these things, but they overlook one crucial detail: how immersive and fun is this monster of a book.

There’s a rich cast of characters: princesses, nuns and warriors, all treacherous, rebellious, cruel and tender by turn.

The dragons are quickening, an apocalyptic power is rising: can Princess Glorian unite the world’s warring factions to defeat it?

GODKILLER 

by Hannah Kaner (HarperVoyager £16.99, 304pp)

A classic quest to a lost city with a fabulously mismatched cast of characters — human and otherwise.

A Day of Fallen Night (left) and Godkiller (right) are among the Sci Fi and Fantasy books which are perfect for the beach 

There’s Kissen the godkiller, seeking revenge, and gritty and sexier than she thinks; Elogast, a handsome knightly noble, and the wonderful Inara, runaway orphan with an unexpected companion.

Everywhere there are gods and godlings to kill, assassins to avoid and lashings of magic and violence. In short, a humdinger.

THRILLERS & CRIME

THE SCARLET PAPERS 

by Matthew Richardson (Michael Joseph £14.99, 592pp)

This hugely impressive espionage debut focuses on a former spymaster, Scarlet King, who specialised in Russia. Now in her 90s, she has decided to tell the story of her work since her recruitment at the end of World War II.

She enlists an academic to help her do so. But the intriguing question is — was she also a double agent, working for the Russians as well as the British? Intricate and fast moving, it weaves a thrilling spell.

This hugely impressive espionage debut focuses on a former spymaster, Scarlet King, who specialised in Russia

ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS 

by Stacy Willingham (HarperCollins £14.99, 336pp)

One of the most memorable thrillers of the year so far, this tells the story of the disappearance of Isabelle Drake’s infant son, Mason, from his bedroom one night.

That was a year ago, and since then her life has fallen apart.

Her husband has left and the police have stopped investigating, but she has become ever more obsessed and has recruited a true crime podcaster to help her find out what really happened.

Serpentine and compelling, it haunts the memory.

THE LAST DANCE 

by Mark Billingham (Sphere £22, 400pp)

One of the most memorable thrillers of the year so far, this tells the story of the disappearance of Isabelle Drake’s infant son, Mason, from his bedroom one night

This captivating story features a new Billingham character — DI Declan Miller, who is nothing if not eccentric

Written by a black barrister who worked in crime and is now a part-time Crown Court judge, this compelling story focuses on Lee Mitchell, a fictional black barrister who is persuaded to defend a notoriously corrupt, racist white Met police sergeant

This captivating story features a new Billingham character — DI Declan Miller, who is nothing if not eccentric.

He loves ballroom dancing and keeps two pet rats named Fred and Ginger. But he’s also gripped with grief as his detective wife was murdered recently.

As he returns to work he finds himself investigating the death of two men, apparently unconnected, in adjacent rooms in a local seaside hotel. Superbly constructed, it underlines just how good a crime writer he is.

UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT 

by Nicola Williams (Hamish Hamilton £14.99, 320pp)

Written by a black barrister who worked in crime and is now a part-time Crown Court judge, this compelling story focuses on Lee Mitchell, a fictional black barrister who is persuaded to defend a notoriously corrupt, racist white Met police sergeant.

He is accused of killing a black pastor’s son. But nothing is what it seems — for it emerges that the pastor’s other son is a drug dealer. Gritty and authentic, the story never loses its grip.

There’s much fun to be had in this delicious debut by Hay, as a bunch of brave but undervalued servants plan a bold burglary

HISTORICAL

THE HOUSE KEEPERS 

by Alex Hay (Headline Review £16.99, 416pp)

There’s much fun to be had in this delicious debut by Hay, as a bunch of brave but undervalued servants plan a bold burglary.

The swanky House of De Vries on Park Lane is their intended target and their aim is to strip the gaudy mansion of everything, from the silver teaspoons in the kitchen drawers to the glittering chandeliers.

Money is an incentive, but the real motivation behind the audacious heist is slowly revealed.

The gilded house is hiding some very dark secrets, and dismissed housekeeper Mrs King and her loyal crack squad, which includes an aspiring actress, a gifted seamstress and an organisational genius, are determined to right the wrongs of the past, while committing the crime of the century.

Fast paced and inventive, it’s a rip-roaring tale of revenge and righteous restitution.

London fog, the smell of damp wallpaper in small rooms and Woodbine smoke evoke the mood in Moylan’s evocative second novel

73 DOVE STREET 

by Julie Owen Moylan (Michael Joseph £16.99, 400pp)

London fog, the smell of damp wallpaper in small rooms and Woodbine smoke evoke the mood in Moylan’s evocative second novel.

Set in post-war London, where bomb-shattered houses still stand, it looks at the lives of three damaged but highly resilient working- class women.

There’s nervy, anxious Edie Budd, who arrives at the titular boarding house clutching a small, broken suitcase and a big wad of money, and who’s on the run from a dangerous past — unspooled in vivid, tense flashbacks —while facing a blank future.

Fellow lodger Tommie, of ‘sharp wits and weary eyes’, loves the seedy Soho nightlife and a man who doesn’t love her back, while redoubtable landlady Phyllis is still reeling from a past sorrow.

Psychologically astute and emotionally absorbing, this is a heartfelt read.

Dedicated to ‘the women who fell victim to the 1645-7 East Anglian witch-hunt’, Meyer’s mesmerising debut heads to the claustrophobic rural community of Cleftwater, where lives are hardscrabble, neighbours are suspicious and the sea tries to encroach on the land

THE WITCHING TIDE 

by Margaret Meyer (Phoenix £16.99, 336pp)

Dedicated to ‘the women who fell victim to the 1645-7 East Anglian witch-hunt’, Meyer’s mesmerising debut heads to the claustrophobic rural community of Cleftwater, where lives are hardscrabble, neighbours are suspicious and the sea tries to encroach on the land.

When a stranger arrives – the sinister Silas Makepeace – the careful lives of the inhabitants are upended as he carries out his plan to rid the village of evil.

At his behest, innocent women are accused of witchcraft and tortured in the hope of extracting a confession.

Forced into helping Makepeace search for the devil’s mark, midwife, healer and herbalist Martha Hallybread turns to her troubled mother’s witching doll in an attempt to turn the tide of their fates, but instead invites danger ever closer.

Bleak, beautiful and enraging, it’s a haunting story of persecution and the abuse of power.