Some say the controversial industry in Lansing is booming…others believe it should be banned but that depends on who you ask.

For Lansing City Pulse Editor Publisher Berl Schwartz, the positives of medical marijuana far outweigh the negatives.

“Lansing should be embracing it, this is a huge, huge economic opportunity for the city,” said Schwartz.

Schwartz says “the ordinance Lansing City Council is considering will kill the medical marijuana business in the city through the use of highly restrictive zoning.”

This is one reason he’s using his newspaper and social media to raise funds for Michigan State University to conduct a study to find out what kind of impact dispensaries have in the Capital City.

Although it has been said that Indiana would be one of the last states to put any kind of marijuana law on the books, both chambers of the State Legislature took action this week on a bill aimed at allowing a specific group of patients to have access to non-intoxicating cannabis oil.

On Thursday, both the House and Senate put their seal of approval on proposals designed to give epilepsy patients the freedom to use cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis derivative that has been shown to decrease the frequency of seizures. The medical marijuana approved by Indiana lawmakers would be devoid of THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis.

Tamworth's medical cannabis advocate Lucy Haslam hopes the NSW Premier does her homework before the pair meet in Sydney today.

The meeting was teed up by former premier Mike Baird who was a strong supporter of Mrs Haslam campaign for medical marijuana.

CAMPAIGNER: Medical cannabis advocate Lucy Haslam. Photo: Peter Hardin 200217PHD004

Florida's Republican-dominated legislature can barely pass basic laws like tax cuts or budget plans without tripping over themselves or spiraling into intra-party screaming matches. The state legislature is so bad at writing its own laws that, as the Miami Herald astutely pointed out last week, gigantic companies like Florida Power & Light have to write entire laws for them. The current legislature is a Stygian pit of bad ideas.

So naturally, Florida voters chose in 2016 to give all those people drugs.

The 2017 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature may be remembered as the year the Mountain State got medical marijuana.

From an idea that had no chance of passage at the beginning of the 60-day legislative session, the medical use of marijuana went from a proposal in the state Senate to a forced vote on the floor of the House of Delegates within the space of a few days.

If signed by Gov. Jim Justice, the measure would make West Virginia the 29th state to legalize medical use of marijuana.

With nationwide acceptance for medical cannabis at an all-time high, a remarkable majority of physicians are still unwilling to certify patients. All too often those suffering from severe and chronic conditions are denied certification from their network of treating physicians.

Today, Canabo Medical Inc. (TSX-V:CMM) (OTCQB:CAMDF) released the results of a new, landmark observational study that connects doctor-supervised medical cannabis treatments to a sharp drop in benzodiazepine reliance among Canadian patients.

Research conducted over the past year revealed that 40 per cent of patients who were prescribed medical cannabis to treat pain and anxiety eliminated the use of benzodiazepines within 90 days. That percentage increased to 45 per cent within a year of cannabis treatment. The findings were announced by Dr. Neil Smith during a presentation at the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) event in Toronto.

Medical marijuana was briefly on the TSA website's list of things you can bring on a plane in your carry on baggage or checked baggage. But the federal transportation agency says that's an error.

"We're sorry for any confusion," the TSA said in a post on Twitter. "A mistake was made in the database of our new 'What can I bring?' tool."

The agency added: "While we have no regulations on transporting marijuana, possession is a crime under Federal law...Our officers aren't looking for illegal narcotics, but they have to report them to law enforcement when discovered."

Marijuana reform activist Tom Angell first noted on Twitter that the TSA website said medical marijuana is allowed on a plane.