Despite new federal legislation making it easier for patients to grow marijuana at home, some medical specialists aren't so sure that's a good idea.

Dr. Doug Smith, a Fredericton specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, says while he's been prescribing marijuana for almost a decade and seen "quite a few remarkable stories of it being a life-changer," patients who grow their own cannabis might have less control over what they're getting.

Previously, patients looking to grow medical marijuana or get someone else to grow it for them could only get seeds and plants from Health Canada.

Historically a state with severe and excessive marijuana laws, Oklahoma has finally made its voice heard through a petition for medical marijuana. Oklahoma Secretary of State, Chris Benge, announced yesterday that his office finished counting the signatures on Initiative Petition 412 — great news for Oklahoma patients — in just 90 days the petition exceeded the 65,987 signatures required to put the issue on an election ballot!

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat” is a weirdly morbid saying, but the phrase’ core concept rings true – there are a lot of ways to accomplish the same task. This has never been more true for cannabidiol (CBD). With the rising demand for CBD products, there are a plethora of different ways to get your daily dose. They range from sublingual sprays, to vaping CBD oils, to smoking good old-fashioned joints.

Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome, more commonly known simply as Tourette’s (TS), is a neurological disorder that causes physical and vocal tics in sufferers. According to the Center for Disease Control, about 138 thousand children have been diagnosed with TS. We’ll give you the rundown on Tourette’s Syndrome, how it’s usually managed, and how cannabis can help.

Tourette’s Syndrome Explained

TS is characterized by the manifestation of tics. Motor tics are sudden, repetitive movements that are done involuntarily. Vocal tics, on the other hand, are involuntary sounds made by the sufferer.

We all know growing plants can be a tedious and time-consuming task, but patience always delivers the biggest and most potent flowers. Victoria’s State Premier, Daniel Andrews visited the Australian state’s secret cannabis compound, a routine stop he makes to check on the well-being and growth of the country’s first-ever legal medical cannabis crop.

After a quick inspection, Andrews noted that the sprouts were finally large enough to move on to the next phase of cultivation. The existing plants will be trimmed down, with the trimmings being planted to begin growing new plants; a great way to extend their budding cannabis garden.

Thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, as it is more commonly known) has gained media and public popularity all over the world. ALS is a fatal, progressive neurodegenerative condition that occurs as a result of selective loss of motor neurons in the brain stem, motor cortex and spinal cord. ALS strikes all of a sudden, commonly between the ages of 40 and 70. Approximately, 5,600 people are being diagnosed per year. The exact cause of ALS is still unknown, but it is believed to be due to neurotoxicity, inflammation and oxidative stress in the motor neurons. These events impair the brain’s ability to initiate or control muscle movements.

Wednesday’s release of Health Canada’s new medical cannabis regulations, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR for short) brings some big changes for patients. Perhaps the biggest is the reintroduction of statutes that allow Canadian patients to grow for themselves, or to designate someone to grow on their behalf.

Government Will Soon Allow More Legal Sources for Obtaining Cannabis-for-Study

The DEA eliminates 48-year old monopoly on research-grade marijuana (MAPS)

Head of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Rick Doblin has been working on getting marijuana approved as a medicine for years, and recently announced the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is starting to open up to the idea of licensing more than one producer of cannabis product for research.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked doctors for their opinions on the Liberals’ promised legalization of the recreational use of marijuana.

He’s about to hear an earful from them.

At one of the final sessions of the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Vancouver on Wednesday, delegates aired their concerns. Among them: the fact that a psychoactive drug is being legitimized to the point where the public thinks it’s a benign substance; the fact marijuana affects brain development, not just in the young but into the 60s; that there is no solid evidence it is safe and effective as a medical treatment so using the term medical marijuana is a misnomer.

We rarely worry about marijuana. So why is it still a Schedule I drug?

On August 11th, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced its decision to keep marijuana classified as a Schedule I drug. The federal government has historically referred to this category as the “most dangerous” group of substances, including drugs like heroin and bath salts.

As a resident physician specializing in mental health, I can't make much sense of this.