This year’s presidential election has revealed how divided most Americans are on many issues. However, there is one area where supporters of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton agree: marijuana policy.

It’s no secret that cannabis can treat pain, but a recent study suggests it can be particularly effective in the treatment of back pain caused by anything from anxiety to injury. Since it’s also proven to be an effective anxiety treatment, it may even reduce anxiety-related back pain and treat both conditions at once. Natural Blaze reports that with studies showing back pain as the leading cause of disability in the world and the leading cause of missed work days in the U.S., a safe and effective treatment is being sought in a way that can’t be provided by addictive opioids.

WA doctors will be able to legally prescribe medicinal cannabis from Tuesday after the state government threw its support behind changes to new Commonwealth laws.

Health Minister John Day on Friday welcomed the new legislation, which will class medicinal cannabis as a controlled prescription drug from November 1.

Dr Andrew Katelaris is one of Australia's biggest medicinal cannabis suppliers.  Photo: Rohan Thomson

"Like all controlled drugs, medicinal cannabis will be prescription only, with strict rules around prescribing," he said.

"Medical practitioners will be at the centre of all treatment decisions and patients will need to discuss their situation with their treating doctor.

The new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR), which came into force on August 24, 2016, has changed how patients with prescriptions for medical marijuana can get their medicine. The ACMPR came to be, in part, as a response to a Federal Court ruling that the former Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) violated the Charter because it prohibited personal production of medical cannabis. For many medicinal cannabis users, the cost of accessing through the channels allowed under the MMPR were simply unaffordable.

Cannabis has been part of human culture for millennia, and is still an important part of the day-to-day life of millions of people worldwide. However, in much of the world, a century-old stigma has established a harsh legal and social climate for the recreational and medical use of the substance. The current legal status of marijuana is extremely complex; in most countries it is illegal to grow, sell and carry the plant and consumption can carry the confusing label of ‘illegal but decriminalised’. Despite these barriers, in recent years a handful of countries have taken decisive steps to become marijuana-friendly territories. Cannabis legalisation advocates have pushed this agenda for decades, but it seems like it has gained institutional acceptance only in recent years.

The Arkansas Supreme Court has disqualified a medical marijuana proposal from the November ballot less than two weeks before the election and with thousands of votes already cast, but voters will still be able to consider a competing plan.

In a 5−2 ruling Thursday, the court sided with opponents of the proposed initiated act - known as Issue 7 - that would have allowed patients with certain medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation to purchase marijuana from dispensaries. The proposal was one of two medical marijuana proposals on the ballot, and justices earlier this month rejected a challenge to a competing measure.

The effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona has seen millions of dollarsin contributions opposing the initiative -- and political advertisements on both sides of the issue.

A recent ad from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a pro-pot group, tells the story of a post-9/11 veteran, Bruce Laird, who was prescribed multiple drugs before he turned to medical marijuana to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cannabis After several years of uncertainty and timid changes, the ball is in Puerto Rico's court. True legalisation is gaining momentum and the process for applying for a Cultivation Licence for Medicinal Cannabis has finally been kick started. The licence's principles will be implemented as per Regulation no. 155.

According to Jake Browne, America’s budtender and head strain reviewer at Denver Post’s The Cannabist, most consumers are not looking for strains to get them higher than Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson trolling KFC at 3:00 a.m.on a weekend bender in Amsterdam.

“If I had cataloged the most common request at dispensaries where I’ve worked,” writes Browne, “it wouldn’t be, ‘What’s going to get me the highest?’ but rather, ‘What can I smoke that won’t knock me out?’”

The stigma of the drug is harder for them to overcome, advocates say.

For older adults exploring the new world of medical marijuana, age 65 seems to be a tipping point. Those under that age use the drug for medical purposes at largely the rates of other adults. Usage among people over 65 appears to drop significantly, though, perhaps because of the culture in which they came of age.