Health Highlights, Dec. 3, 2020

Below are newsworthy items compiled by HealthDay staff:

San Francisco Bans Tobacco Smoking Inside Apartments, But Allows Marijuana

Tobacco smoking inside apartments in San Francisco is now illegal, but tenants can still smoke marijuana indoors.

The exclusion for marijuana was given because it's illegal to smoke it in public places, the Associated Press reported.

"Unlike tobacco smokers who could still leave their apartments to step out to the curb or smoke in other permitted outdoor smoking areas, cannabis users would have no such legal alternatives," explained Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who wrote the amendment to exempt marijuana.

San Francisco is the largest city in the U.S. to ban tobacco smoking inside apartments, the AP reported.

Cannabis Removed From UN's Most Dangerous Drug List

Cannabis and cannabis resin have been removed from a UN agency's category of the world's most dangerous drugs.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs said its decision was based on the World Health Organization's recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin for the category, which includes heroin and several other opioids, CBS News reported.

The change doesn't mean that UN member nations can legalize marijuana under the international drug control system.

But experts say the change in how the commission classifies cannabis could affect the global medical marijuana industry, CBS News reported.

Dozens of NBA Players Test Positive for COVID-19

In the first week of testing before the start of a new season, 48 of 546 NBA players tested positive for COVID-19.

The league didn't release the names of the players who tested positive, CBS News reported.

"Anyone who has returned a confirmed positive test during this initial phase of testing in their team's market is isolated until they are cleared for leaving isolation under the rules established by the NBA and Players Association in accordance with CDC guidelines," according to a league statement.

Neither the league nor the players' union are concerned about these initial results, a source with inside knowledge told CBS News.

The positivity rate in initial testing is about 9%, just below the national average of 10%, and the league expects the rate to drop as players spend more time in one place, according to the source.