Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr was briefed on concerns and questions about medical marijuana use in a presentation to earlier this year, including fears that paying for injured ex-soldiers' pot could actually hurt them.

But noticeably absent was discussion about the positive benefits of medical marijuana, including whether it has reduced veterans' reliance on opioids and other drugs.

Instead, in a separate briefing note, officials told Hehr that they had not been able to prove a link between the two.

The documents, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act, have reinforced concerns among some veterans that the government is about to restrict their access to cannabis.

While highly regulated, the amount of medicinal cannabis sold by German pharmacies has almost doubled in just one year. The Federal Ministry of Health has disclosed numbers following an inquiry request from Left Party.

German pharmacies are selling more and more medicinal cannabis to patients.

According to Germany's Federal Ministry of Health, sales have risen from 33.8 kilograms in the first six months of 2015 to 61.8 kilograms in the first six months 2016. The numbers were disclosed following a parliamentary letter of enquiry from the Left Party.

The Government said it was unable to provide a reason for the rise. Only 647 people in Germany have an allowance to purchase medicinal cannabis flowers and extract from pharmacies.

Veterans and others in New Jersey can now legally treat their post-traumatic stress disorder with marijuana.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a measure Wednesday allowing people to use marijuana if their PTSD isn’t treatable with conventional therapy. In a statement sent with the announcement of the bill signing, Christie noted that federal officials estimate up to 20 percent of veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD.

But Christie also directed the state’s health commissioner to promulgate additional regulations that provide “clear objective criteria” regarding the drug’s use for PTSD. Christie has said he wants to make sure legalizing medical marijuana doesn’t become a backdoor into legalization for recreational use.

The Canadian government has quietly approved new drug regulations that will permit doctors to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade heroin to treat severe addicts who have not responded to more conventional approaches.

The move means that Crosstown, a trail-blazing clinic in Vancouver, will be able to expand its special heroin-maintenance program, in which addicts come in as many as three times a day and receive prescribed injections of legally obtained heroin from a nurse free. The program is the only one of its kind in Canada and the United States but is similar to the approach taken in eight European countries.

In a first-ever for California, patients at Marin General may soon be allowed to consume medical marijuana in the hospital.

If members of the Marin Healthcare District approve the resolution introduced by Dr. Larry Bedard at Tuesday’s meeting, the hospital’s staff would begin a review process examining the legal and medicalimplications of using medical pot at the acute-care center.

Cannabis should be made legal for medicinal purposes, say a cross-party group of U.K. MPs.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Policy Reform says that clear evidence from a seven-month study shows the drug can play a therapeutic role for individuals with certain conditions—including chronic pain and anxiety.

Most people are familiar with the healing potential of medical cannabis for people who are already ill. In states where its medicinal use has been legalized, cannabis is prescribed to help with things like relieving the side effects of chemo, reducing chronic pain, and treating anxiety. Some even go as far as to say they’ve cured themselves from cancer or turned around autoimmune diseases.

Debilitating diseases and chronic conditions severely impair the quality of life of patients; for those suffering from Crohn’s disease, or multiple sclerosis, or arthritis, or the aftereffects of chemotherapy, the ability to find relief from pain can make a real difference.

Fortunately, advances in medical technology are finding answers. An increasing number of people suffering from these conditions are finding that medical cannabis can make a difference that their prescription medicines simply cannot.

Nearly a decade ago, Yohai Gild Golan, an experienced cannabis pioneer and founder of the medical-grade cannabis company Better, moved from California to Israel for the opportunity to do more for the medicinal marijuana industry. You read that correctly. Although many people perceive the West Coast of the United States as the center of cannabis progressivism, the Israeli government is among the most supportive of medicinal marijuana use in the world.

In the United States, 25 states have legalized medical marijuana, including 19 that let patients with a prescription buy pot from dispensaries. Proponents argue that expanding the availability of medical marijuana reduces opioid abuse and overdose deaths because it gives people an alternative for pain relief.

About 3 out of 5 opioid overdoses occur in people with legitimate prescriptions for pain pills. These are the people who might opt for medical marijuana instead.