Medical life science company, Medlab Clinical Limited (ASX:MDC), has signed a significant cannabis supply agreement with Canadian licenced producer of medical marijuana, Aphria Inc. (TSX VENTURE:APH)(OTCQB:APHQF). Cannabis plant species, yields and a novel extraction process have been established in collaboration between Medlab and Aphria, allowing Aphria to produce for Medlab in a large scale supply.

The combination of the two most known cannabis extracts required by Medlab, CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), produces in excess of 70 per cent active ingredient for both compounds, making it one of the most potent compounds known.

Maryland entrepreneurs seeking to get into the marijuana business will have a new boost of extra help following the rules thanks to a Colorado tech firm.

Maryland law firm Offit Kurman, which has offices in Bethesda and Baltimore, formed an exclusive alliance with Denver-based Adherence Compliance to offer automated compliance software and services for the cannabis industry, it announced Friday.

The technology conducts audits and provides quantitative risk assessment applications and consulting services for companies in states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.

They may call it weed, but what grows in Laurie MacEachern’s plot is more like the lush fields of corn near her rural home, southeast of Ottawa, than the goldenrod and wild parsnip in the ditch. 

“Welcome to my garden,” she tells a rare recent visitor, surveying rows of luxuriant green plants that will be ready to harvest next month.

In an area the size of a suburban backyard, the 57-year-old grandmother grows enough medical cannabis to last her a year.

Golden Bay woman Rebecca Reider has made history bringing the first legal raw cannabis flower into New Zealand, medical marijuana campaigners say.

A woman is claiming victory after bringing a bag of cannabis through customs at Auckland Airport - without so much as a raised eyebrow.

Rather than concealing the drug supply, Rebecca Reider said she happily showed off her haul of one ounce of medicinal marijuana, which has now been hailed by cannabis campaigners as an historic precedent. 

Reider, a Californian-born Nelson resident, said she was excited to be the first person to legally bring raw cannabis flower into New Zealand.

As of Aug. 24, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) replace the 2013 Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), which replaced the 2001 Marihuana Medical Access Regulations.

The new rules set out a framework for commercial production by licensed producers, like the MMPR, but like the former MMAR, allows patients to produce a “limited amount” for their own use or designate someone to grow it for them.

The 34 licensed producers will be the only legal source of “starting materials” — seeds and plants.

People who want to use medical cannabis still have to get a document from an authorized health-care practitioner specifying a period of use of up to one year and a daily quantity of marijuana in grams.

The transparency of New York’s Medical Marijuana Program has been questioned by many New Yorkers, but on Aug. 19, 2016, the New York State Depart of Health released a two-year report on the state’s Medical Medical Use of Marijuana Under the Compassionate Care Act, as confirmed by a staff member with the NYS Medical Marijuana Program.

On June 15, 2016, the report’s data was obtained from the NYSDOH’s Medical Marijuana Data Management System and the Prescription Monitoring Program Registry.

Alleges Israel’s medicinal pot is misrepresented and contaminated.

A medical marijuana patient whose license to grow his own cannabis was revoked in 2013, has filed a lawsuit against Israel’s health ministry for providing him with plants tainted by dangerous pesticides which are illegal for human consumption.

“Patient R” is one of only a dozen Israelis who have been issued permits to grow his own plants, and is the only patient involved in the lawsuit.

The headline ”Smoking marijuana provides more pain relief for men than women” has recently appeared on a number of websites. What message do you get when you read this headline? Does it mean that smoking marijuana makes the pain go away more for men than women? If that’s what you think, you’ve been misled by headlines about a recent study that is currently in press in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 

The research

"The Department of Health is being very thoughtful and thorough in developing this complex patient and medically-focused program," said Murphy. "Providing the public, our partners, and stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft temporary regulations and provide feedback before they are published helps us ensure we are being transparent throughout the process. I encourage all interested individuals to visit our website and provide feedback to help us create a high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania residents with serious medical conditions."

But some vets aren’t willing to wait for its official approval

The Army’s top doctor is skeptical that the first-ever federally-approved study will show that marijuana can help U.S. veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. “It’s been found that using marijuana has a lot of adverse health effects,” Lieut. General Nadya West says. In April, the federal government approved a three-year study to try to determine if actual marijuana, not merely chemicals extracted from it, can help those with PTSD.