With Iowa’s limited medical cannabis laws set to expire in July, state legislators and medical marijuana advocates say they see an opportunity to rewrite a more comprehensive set of rules when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, said he plans to propose a bill that would allow for the production and distribution of medical cannabis oil in Iowa — something many other Republicans previously have opposed.

“Last year there was a hodgepodge of panic, if you will, in my caucus to do something. Well if we’re going to do something, let’s do something smart,” Baudler said. “If these people want it grown in Iowa, processed in Iowa, I think we can make that happen.”

“We’re very proud to be hosting medical cannabis research,” Dr Václav Trojan, head of the Faculty of Agronomy of Mendel University in the Czech Republic, told a group of representatives from some of Europe’s most exciting cannabis organizations who had convened for a three day seminar arranged by the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) and run by Americans for Safe Access (ASA).

Mendel University, located in the city of Brno, has been researching medical cannabis since the government made it legal to do so around two and a half years ago. The first European seminar of Patient Focused Certification (PFC) was held there last week.

The Australian Medical Association has distanced itself from a new relaxed drugs approach being pushed by the Greens, saying it underestimates the harm illicit drugs do to the community.

Association president Michael Gannon told Fairfax Media he welcomed any initiative that shifted the public conversation about illicit drugs towards rehabilitation and treatment instead of policing and the justice system.

But he said he was "wary" of any push towards decriminalising illicit drugs, including cannabis.

"We should not underestimate the harm that illicit drugs do everyday in our community," Dr Gannon said on Sunday.

John Stewart used to run the pharmaceutical company behind the narcotic painkiller OxyContin. Now he is banking on medical marijuana.

Mr Stewart does not know which is more controversial these days, OxyContin or pot.

He guesses the average person would give "a bigger negative" to the powerful and controversial painkiller that has been linked to the opioid overdose and addiction epidemic in the US and Canada.

"There is a lot of anti-opioid sentiment," he says, delicately. "And certainly based on the social disruption that we've seen it's understandable."

CLAIM: Scientific studies support the conclusion that marijuana can play a role in healing broken bones.

MOSTLY TRUE

ORIGIN:

Marijuana legalization is looming in Canada, but what's in today's weed — and what isn't — may surprise you.

CBC's Marketplace looked into the marijuana market ahead of the coming legislative shift, which is expected in spring 2017.

When producers visited seven Toronto dispensaries and collected 12 of the most popular marijuana strains, laboratory test results showed average THC levels of around 20 per cent. THC is the active ingredient that provides pot's high.

Some strains reached as high at 30 per cent THC, much higher than pot in the 1970s, when levels in Canada hovered between two to eight per cent, according to Jonathan Page, an adjunct professor of botany at the University of British Columbia.

Holy smokes! Veterans are getting punished for the acts of some shady medical marijuana companies.

Last week, Vice News broke a story about the rising costs of medical marijuana for veterans and it shed light on the reasons for the drastic spike.

The biggest? Some legal cannabis producers are milking the system and actively recruiting veterans in order to max out their orders with only the most expensive cannabis strains — knowing it’s up to the government to foot the bill on veteran prescriptions.

When one savvy veteran caught on to his Health Canada-licensed producer hiding cheaper strains from the veteran menu, they called up the company and asked to see all the options.

The medical marijuana program in the state of New York is one of the most restrictive programs in the entire country. There are 10 conditions that qualify a patient for medical cannabis in New York and while full strength cannabis is available, it is only available in non-smokable forms like oils, edibles, capsules, tinctures and the like. However, the state has been talking about expanding their program for a while now – and it looks like they’re finally taking action to see these changes through.

Treating epilepsy using medicinal cannabis offers a “tantalising new horizon” for severe disabling seizures, but scientific studies are not yet “definitive”, a leading neurologist has said.

The Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Congress will discuss Wednesday a bill that will allow the use of cannabis oil for medical treatments.

The initiative, if approved by the block of forces that supports the government of Mauricio Macri and a faction of the opposition, would allow the use of cannabis oil to combat diseases such as epilepsy, chronic pain and fibromialgia, among others.

The project implements the creation of a regulatory framework for medical and scientific research on the medicinal use of the cannabis plant and its derivatives.