Simply put, Big Pharma has been a long time opponent of legalizing medical marijuana as it threatens to ruin its business and drop the market cap for pharmaceutical drug companies.

Even though medical cannabis has been legalized in more than half of the US states, all of Canada and in Mexico, prices of drugs that could be replaced by cannabis are still on the rise.

Worse yet, prices of drugs that are made from the cannabis flower are being artificially inflated in places where medical marijuana is legal, but most recently in Germany of all places.

This is due to the fact that the Big Pharma has so far only competed with the black market when it comes to marijuana, but now all of that is starting to change.

Liberal members of the finance committee have voted against an amendment that could have led to the exemption of medical cannabis from Bill C-74’s proposed excise tax.

"Perhaps 4,000 or more Canadians have written to the members of this committee to oppose this new system, this tax regime on cannabis for medical purposes," said MP Pierre Luc Dusseault of the NDP in the House of Commons yesterday (May 22), as the committee conducted a clause-by-clause review of the bill.

"It will have a very negative effect on current users because it's a system that is already in place. More than 260,000 people are using cannabis for medical purposes, and they have openly criticized this new tax on their medication." 

Medical marijuana has been making breakthroughs for years with technology continuing to advance at a rapid pace.

With laws changing all of the time and more research being done on the medical benefits of cannabinoids found in marijuana, we are witnessing some exciting things happening in the medical industry. We’ve compiled a list of just ten of the more recent major medical marijuana breakthroughs:

1. Brain Cancer

From drug pooling to medical marijuana, plan sponsors have a number of issues to keep track of when it comes to their benefits plans. At the Face to Face Drug Plan Management forum in Vancouver this month, a panel of experts tackled some of the hot topics the industry is thinking about.

Pooling

One concern for sponsors and advisors is that pooling charges are increasing at a much faster pace than premiums.

A new trend could be emerging in the cannabis industry. Nanotechnology is starting to attract the attention of the cannabis industry, especially when it comes to medical marijuana and cannabinoid pharmaceuticals.

What is Nanotechnology?

Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora" or the "Company") (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) and CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. ("CTT") (US-OTC: CTTH) today announced that Aurora is acquiring an initial 9.14% ownership interest in CTT via way of a non-brokered private placement in the form of a US$1 million 5% convertible debenture. The agreement includes an issuance of warrants enabling to Aurora to increase ownership to 42.5%.

Commercial agreement

Bruce Linton, founder and CEO of Canada’s largest marijuana company, Canopy Growth Corporation, said that legalizing cannabis at the federal level in the US could result in fewer opioid and other addictive prescriptions.

The interview with CNBC’s Mad Money host, Jim Cramer, took place Thursday following Canopy Growth recently applying to become the first cannabis producer to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Linton explained that Canopy Growth has both a medical and recreational division and that on the recreational side; he expects that the company’s partnership with Constellation Brands will result in a new class of low-calorie beverages. He said that the possibilities within the medical division are still emerging.

Cannvas MedTech Inc. ("Cannvas MedTech" or the "Company"), a leading business technology company within the cannabis space, is pleased to announce its lead sponsorship role at the upcoming Medical Cannabis Week in Toronto. This inaugural event brings together the thought leaders in the Canadian medical cannabis sector and is presented by Business of Cannabis in partnership with Cannvas MedTech, WeedMD, Ample Organics, TechTO, HealthTO, SheCann, Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP, RNMKR PR, Salesforce, Emblem and other leading industry partners.

The Reformulary Group Inc. has formed a cannabis formulary committee that will review evidence for medical marijuana and provide expert opinions and criteria for its use, including lines of therapy, specific strains, grams per indication, mode of consumption and quantity limits.

The committee is also aiming to create a registry to capture patient-reported data, which will then help to build a cannabis formulary.  

“For Canadian employers that choose to cover medical cannabis, our cannabis formulary — called Cannabis Standard — will be an essential product to access the best available evidence and expert advice,” said Helen Stevenson, founder and chief executive officer of the Reformulary Group, in a press release.

CBD oil doesn't produce a high but is suggested to aid in runner's recovery.

Cannabis and cannabis-related products are becoming much more prevalent and accepted in Canada. This acceptance has lead to a deeper exploration of cannabis, and what the drug can do to help athletes. While cannabis in its psychoactive form remains illegal both in and out of competition, there is an emerging cannabis-related product called cannabidiol that is showing benefits for runners. It is suggested that cannabidiol can lessen inflammation and improve recovery time.