LeBron James admits that he smoked marijuana as a 17-year-old in high school. In “Shooting Stars,” a book written by James and co-author Buzz Bissinger, which chronicles James’ rise to the NBA stardom, acknowledges that all the focus on him as a young phenom blew his head up way beyond proportion. “We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular,” James said, “and we are to blame for that, but so are adults who treated us that way and then sat back and smugly watched the self-destruction.” The book, scheduled for release in September, tells of the spotlight under which the famous teen operated during his final two years at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. It was the period following his appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated. James says that he and close friends Dru Joyce, Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis and Willie McGee – nicknamed the Fab Five – took full advantage of their celebrity. “I was arrogant, dubbing myself “The Chosen One,” James said. “In hindsight, I should have kept quiet, but I also was what I was, a teenager where every reporter in the world seemed to be rushing toward me at once.”

If you’re blowing blunts and smoking cigarettes, you are at an increased risk of developing lung disease, a new study shows. While cigarettes alone are a major source of such obstructive pulmonary diseases as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, when pot smoking is added to the mix, they act “synergistically” to promote the illnesses, researchers report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Read more.

Woods Loses Bid for Fourth Green Jacket
The final hour of the 2009 Masters at Augusta National Sunday provided just the fireworks that the event needed to shatter its reputation as a lackluster tournament with few exciting highlights. But, it was the undercard that stole the show, as Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods battled it out in a final round of a major for the first time in eight years. Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine to get into contention, but Woods caught him with three birdies over the next four holes and put the crowd of thousands on the edge of the green. Sadly, however, the tourney ended with far less fanfare as Mickelson faded, settling for a 67 and leaving him five strokes off the lead. Woods also fizzled, bogeying the final two holes for a 68 and wrapping up a shot behind Mickelson to finish another shot back. By the time the major ended, Angel Cabrera had become the first Argentine to win the green jacket at Augusta National.
Bolt Blew Herb as a Kid, Paper Says World-record-holding sprinter Usain Bolt smoked dope as a youngster, he told a publication Sunday. “In Jamaica, you learn as a child how to roll a joint. Everyone here has tried it. I did too –  but I was real young then,” Bolt was quoted by the online publication Bild. “My family and my friends don’t smoke and I don’t hang out any longer with people who smoke.” Three-time Olympic gold medalist, who set world records in the 100 and 200 meters at the Beijing Olympics and was part of the Jamaican team that broke the world mark in the 400-meter relay, made the admission in an interview published online Sunday. One of Bild’s reporters says he met Bolt at a disco in Kingston, Jamaica, and that the sprinter drank Guinness mixed with Red Bull.

Weezy’s week begins with court hearing.

It had to be a tough moment for rapper Lil’ Wayne’s assistant. At a Monday hearing on Weezy’s ongoing weapons case, in which he was allegedly arrested carrying a gun in New York, the subject of marijuana was raised. Wayne’s employee took the stand, admitting that weed is “something we always have” on the tour bus, and that Weezy only smokes “dro,” or hydroponically grown marijuana. Apparently, swearing to tell the truth kept the assistant from helping his boss a great deal. Wayne’s expected to return to court in December. In other New York-related Wayne news, the star sent his personal sympathies this past weekend to the family of a 16-year-old killed in a New York car wreck.

The study did not look into the behavior of young White females.

Black girls who smoke pot are far more likely to take sexual risks and to contract sexually transmitted diseases than non-weed-smokers, according to a new study that examines the behavior of young African-American females. Girls who took marijuana had significantly higher rates of STDs than non-marijuana users (32 percent compared to 23 percent), Emory University researchers found after studying marijuana use and self-reported sexual behavior of 439 sexually active African-American females between the ages of 15 and 21. Marijuana users also had more sex partners, riskier sex partners, including a partner just released from jail, and more recent episodes of engaging in vaginal sex, compared to those who did not use marijuana, the study found. “While adolescent African-American females remain a high-risk group for STDs, little research has examined their marijuana use, sexual behaviors and incidence of STD infection,” said study co-author Ralph DiClemente, professor of public health at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. “Although no differences in condom use were identified between marijuana users and non-users, results suggest that marijuana users are engaging in sexual acts with riskier partners and under riskier circumstances, and had higher rates of STDs,” DiClemente said. DiClemente and his team did not compare the behavior of Black girls’ using marijuana against White girls or girls of other ethnic groups. However, they recommend STD- and HIV-intervention programs designed for adolescent African-American females that promote condom use as well as emphasize the risks of drug use and STD and HIV infection. These findings are being presented at the International AIDS Conference meeting now in Mexico City.

Veteran Hollywood actor suffered broken bones. Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman is recovering with a broken shoulder and arm, after losing control of his 1997 Nissan in a weekend accident. Freeman is reportedly in good spirits and expected to make a full recovery after he and his passenger Demaris Meyer had to be cut out of the vehicle that veered off of Highway 32 near Ruleville, Miss. and flipped several times, according to police. Bill Luckett, a friend and co-owner of Freeman’s Madidi restaurant in Mississippi, says the actor was sitting up and talking when Luckett visited him at Regional Medical Center in Memphis on Monday. Meyer, whose relationship to Freeman is unknown, is also reportedly in good condition. Freeman’s latest performance can be seen in the hit Batman film, The Dark Knight. Read more here.

Snoop “Dizzle’s” tags were current when weed was found. A lawyer for rapper Snoop Dogg says his tour bus was stopped illegally last week when two pounds of marijuana were allegedly found on board. Two of Snoop’s entourage were charged with possession after officers pulled the vehicle over, allegedly for expired tags. But Snoop’s attorney says the tags were current. The drug charges could be dismissed if it’s found that there was no cause for cops to stop the bus, initially. Snoop’s wife Shanté Broadus avoided drunk driving charges recently after it was found that officers lacked evidence against her.

A rapper is arrested twice in less than a week.
DMX is really needing those prayers right about now. Within days, he was arrested on a traffic warrant, had his investment property seized for auction and, most recently, is alleged to have sought cocaine from an undercover cop. X was arrested this past weekend, adding yet another mug shot to several displayed on Web sites and TV in 2008. He allegedly tried to buy marijuana along with the “powder” he reportedly requested from the Miami cop. Sounds like the lyrics he once rapped — “I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’…” — are increasingly true.

An actor’s California school will have no basis in Scientology, he claims
Acting couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith say the children’s school they planned to open in September isn’t influenced by a controversial religion. Though it’s been rumored that the planned California academy will incorporate Scientology into the curriculum, the pair dismisses the idea. Will Smith recently acknowledged studying the religion with his good friend, actor Tom Cruise, but denied being a Scientologist. Smith’s planned school was reportedly conceived so he could have his own children educated in an alternative environment.

R&B star ponders a retirement from the music business.
At 27, with multi-platinum records under her belt and enough money to be comfortable, Alicia Keys is pondering a retirement date. “I am working hard now so I have the choice to retire when I want,” she’s quoted as telling Contactmusic. “I would like to travel the world and stay in places instead of having to move on like I do now. I want to experience difference cultures.” Keys says she could make her exit from recording as soon as a few years from now. She recently made an extended visit to Egypt.