Access to medicinal cannabis is improving Americans’ quality of life in ways few advocates could have initially predicted. As the number of people utilizing marijuana grows, so too does our understanding of its societal benefits. Here are some of the latest scientific findings:

Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis grower, which is backed by finance sector identities Barry Lambert and Chris Cuffe, has decided to stop production here and move to the US where it says the legal framework is much more favourable.

Ecofibre recently completed a $12 million capital raising with cash from Mr Lambert and Mr Cuffe. But it will close a business that has grown cannabis on 340 acres in the Hunter Valley in NSW – used for medical experiments on rats at the University of Sydney during the past year – and move to Kentucky in the US.

In April 2015, Carrie Tice was despairing over her 80-year-old mother’s advancing Alzheimer’s when a caregiver at her senior center in California recommended giving her a topical dose of marijuana. Many other drugs had failed, but the marijuana made her feel better immediately. She was more alert, more active and looked younger. By October last year, she had moved out of the senior center, and this year she moved in with her daughter in Mill Valley.

“The change in my mom was so remarkable that I wanted to shout it from the mountaintops,” Tice said. “She seemed 10 years younger after 20 minutes, and was happy.”

State Sen. Jose Menendez plans to file a bill Tuesday morning that would expand the use of medical marijuana in Texas.

Twenty-eight states have already approved the use of medical marijuana, including many conservative states.

In 2015, Texas state lawmakers legalized the use of medical marijuana in Texas (SB 339), but the scope was limited.

So limited, that only those suffering from intractable epilepsy, otherwise known as uncontrolled epilepsy, are allowed to get a prescription for cannabis oil.

“We (elected officials) aren't doctors,” said Menendez. “Doctors know what's best and we should let doctors and patients decide what medicines they should use.”

Menendez’s bill would allow patients with cancer or other illnesses to gain access to cannabis.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made waves over the weekend when he said, during a CSN Bay Area Podcast on Friday, that he has consumed medical marijuana for back pain he experienced over the past two years.

“I guess maybe I could even get in some trouble for this, but I’ve actually tried [marijuana] twice during the last year and a half when I’ve been going through this pain, this chronic pain that I’ve been dealing with,” Kerr told host Monte Poole.

Medical marijuana may soon be available for patients in Ireland after the minority government approved Thusday a new amendment allowing use of the plant. The bill, drafted by Ireland’s People Before Profit group, still has another round of approval by the government before it can become law.

Nutraceutical pain reliever makes use of marijuana’s CBD compound, doesn’t make you high.

Sales based on Israeli startup Lyotropic Delivery Systems (LDS) Biotech‘s nanotechnology have started in the US. The commercial launch of its cannabis-derived compound, which aims to relieve inflammation and pain, was announced earlier this month by LDS and US based company Ananda Scientific at a marijuana business conference held in Las Vegas.

Claiming the state is hoarding funds, two medical marijuana users want a judge to reduce the annual charge for the legally required registration cards.

In legal papers filed here, the attorney for Yolanda Daniels and Lisa Becker points out the Department of Health Services collected $2.6 million more in fees last year from patients, caregivers and dispensaries than it actually took to run the program. And Sean Berberian noted the balance in the account as of the end of 2015 was nearly $11.5 million.

Yet the health department still charges patients $150 a year for identification card they need to legally buy the drug and escape prosecution if they are found in possession. And caregivers who tend to patients must pay $200 a year.

Phil Fontaine, the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has teamed up with one of the first licensed cannabis growers to bring medical marijuana to First Nations.

Indigenous Roots is a joint venture between Mr. Fontaine and Cronos Group, which operates the Peace Naturals Project in Ontario and The Zone Produce Ltd. in British Columbia.

It would work co-operatively with First Nations to supply people living on and off reserves with the drug.

In a news release issued Tuesday morning, the partners say the idea is to allow First Nations to invest, operate, and participate in the economic opportunities related to the emerging cannabis industry.

Have you ever heard of terpenes? You’re about to see why the pharmaceutical industry, mainstream media outlets and conventional medicine would like to see you uneducated about these powerful organic compounds found within medical cannabis.

You see, there is just no way that big pharma medications will ever replicate the complex interactions that occur naturally in plants – even though drug companies keep trying at the expense of patients’ health and pocketbooks! One category of substances, called terpenes, play a major role in the healing power of not only medical cannabis but dozens of other pungent herbs and plants as well.