A research initiative hopes to get approval for a study that would recruit 25,000 recreational cannabis consumers in Berlin - if it can get government approval.

The group called the Research Initiative on Cannabis Consumption is hoping to get an application for a new study approved so that they can analyze the “consequences of cannabis for psychologically healthy, adult consumers”. The aim is to understand what effects cannabis use has after several years, according to the group, which was started by a Berlin lawyer and a clinical psychology professor at the Medical School Hamburg.

Many US politicians continue to oppose legalising marijuana, both medical and recreational, even going so far as ignoring the wishes of their voters in Florida. Although 71% of Florida voters approved medical marijuana last year, the Florida legislature has been dragging its feet to complete necessary regulation.

For more than 50 years, Israeli scientists have been researching the medical benefits associated with cannabis and the country’s pro-cannabis standpoint has made it attractive to several cannabis-focused biotech firms.

Although the Israeli cannabis research and development efforts are unmatched by any country, the growth of the North American cannabis industry has caught Israel’s attention.

The Canadian recreational cannabis movement has been the story of the year so far, but Israel is not too far behind as its cannabis initiatives are starting to gain traction in some of the world’s largest markets.

The UK should have a legal, digital-only cannabis market in the UK, according to a new report.

The regulated market would limit access to anyone younger than 21, with checks similar to buying alcohol online.

The report, from pro-drug legalisation think tank Volte Face, argues that a controlled market would offer safer products and offer the ability for revenues to be taxed - potentially raising around £800m for the exchequer.

"We believe that Britain's multibillion-pound cannabis market should be developed and operated exclusively online by a private sector that is stringently controlled and regulated by democratically elected governments," the report, called The Green Screen, argues.

One of the top reasons why many turn to cannabis is stress management. However, for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), access to this simple green herb can make the difference between drowning in hypervigilance and full engagement with the present. One doctor has seen the transformative powers of cannabis firsthand. Dr. Mike Hart has been successfully treating PTSD with medical cannabis and lifestyle interventions for the past three years. Here’s how.

A teenager denied new lungs because he had traces of marijuana in his system has died after transplant surgery.

Riley Hancey, 19, was diagnosed with a rare lung infection after both collapsed which he suffered after complaining of the flu.

The shock diagnosis stunned his parents and three siblings who described him as a "healthy teen" who enjoyed winter and summer sports.

Riley was working in Utah, USA, for his brother and at a ski resort when he was struck down with the infection.

He was admitted to the University of Utah Hospital and placed on the transplant list but was denied surgery there after tests showed traces of marijuana in his system.

With passage of the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MCRSA”) in 2015, California took a huge step towards comprehensively regulating its medical cannabis industry after more than 20 years of little to no such state government oversight under Proposition 215.

As one of the doctors in Florida that can recommend medical marijuana, Dr. Jonathan Adelberg urges caution to his patients. “I want people to operate - whether it's the speed limit or medicinal marijuana - inside the law.”

However, Dr. Adelberg says legalization hasn't been a smooth trip.

“The law is so fluid regarding medicinal marijuana, it's hard to navigate those waters,” he says.

And the doctor fears that turbulence may continue

Separate medical marijuana bills are currently moving through the Florida House and Senate after voters approved Amendment 2 in November

Lawmakers are far apart on agreeing what the law will allow, however.

The fentanyl crisis is making its way back into the election campaign today.

The BC Liberal Party is promising to set aside all future marijuana revenue to provide help for those addicted to opioids and other drugs. This follows a call from a group of parents whose children have died during the ongoing overdose crisis that has killed hundreds of people across the province.

Chilli and cannabis both produce a substance that reacted with the immune system of mice to reduce inflammation in the gut.

WHAT do chilli spice and cannabis have in common?

On the face of it, very little. But, scientists hope both could help develop new treatments for type 1 diabetes and the gut disease colitis.

When eaten, both interact with the same receptor in our stomachs, new findings suggest.

And the result is they help calm the gut, scientists at the University of Connecticut found.

Mice fed both chilli peppers and the class B drug showed less inflammation in their guts. And, the researchers even found they were able to reverse type 1 diabetes in some mice, by feeding them the fiery pepper.