Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine for almost 20 years. But Farmington physician Jean Antonucci says she continues to feel unprepared when counseling sick patients about whether the drug could benefit them.

Will it help my glaucoma? Or my chronic pain? My chemotherapy’s making me nauseous, and nothing’s helped. Is cannabis the solution? Patients hope Antonucci, 62, can answer those questions. But she said she is still “completely in the dark.”

The state has awarded preliminary licenses to more than 20 companies to grow and process marijuana in Maryland, a major step forward in the effort to make medical cannabis available to patients in Maryland.

Licenses were awarded Monday to companies across the state, from Washington County in Western Maryland to Worcester County on the Eastern Shore. They plan to grow marijuana plants and turn them into pills, oils, extracts and other products for patients suffering from a range of illnesses.

Several of the winning applicants have political connections.

Staci Gruber vividly remembers her first hit of marijuana, back when she was in college. It made her so paranoid, she locked herself in a bathroom. She couldn’t decide whether to remain in hiding or to run. But she knew she’d never try pot again.

She didn’t lose interest in the drug, however. Today, she runs the 2-year-old Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery, or MIND, project at McLean Hospital in this suburb of Boston. With cognitive testing and neuroimaging, MIND is conducting a longitudinal study of medical marijuana.

Medical research on marijuana probably won't get any easier, experts say, despite a new government policy aimed at boosting the supply of the drug for medical studies.

That means the types of studies that are needed to address the safety and effectiveness of the drug as a medicine could still be a long way off.

An independent medical committee will oversee the roll out of medicinal cannabis in Victoria and advise on the next group of patients that will be given access the drug, the Andrews Government has said.

Medical marijuana is expected to be made available to children with severe epilepsy sometime next year, after the Government committed $28.5 million in this year's budget. 

The Government announced Professor James Angus would lead the medical advisory committee that will look at expanding the scheme to other cohorts.

Terra Tech (TRTC) reported financial results for the second quarter and the company saw significant growth from a revenue perspective on a year-over-year basis.

Although we are favorable on this top-line growth, a majority of this revenue was generated by its Edible Garden subsidiary which has a very low gross margin.

Cannabis Products…A Margin Story

Terra Tech’s cannabis products continue to be a bright spot for the company as revenue increased by more than 2,800% on a year-over-year basis.

About This Project

Improved therapies are needed for symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis such as fatigue, spasticity, and walking impairments. In most cases, currently available disease modifying and symptomatic therapies do not sufficiently relieve these symptoms. Almost 50% of patients with MS are using successful cannabis based on anecdotal reports. However, strong scientific evidence for the effectiveness of cannabis is needed. Here in Colorado, we are able to conduct cannabis research studies in MS.

It is said that about 50 percent of all chain-smokers will perish horribly as a direct result of their smoking habits during their lifetime. Considering that 1 billion people out of the gross world population of 7 billion are smokers, this number is big enough to give anyone the heebie-jeebies. What’s more, one person dies every 6 seconds due to a tobacco-related disease, and as of last year, 20 percent of all deaths in the US alone were from smoking. Keeping these facts in mind, it is no wonder that smoking is now a matter of global concern, whereby any first-world country is under socio-political pressure to take mandatory action against this frightful addiction.

Supporters of Oklahoma medical marijuana who want to let voters decide the issue in November delivered thousands of signatures Thursday but say they aren’t sure if they gathered enough to qualify the petition for the ballot.

“It’s going to be close, but we’re cautiously optimistic,” said Joe Dorman, a former Democratic legislator and candidate for governor who spearheaded the effort. “We had a bunch of people show up at the end who delivered signatures.”

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine for almost 20 years. But Farmington physician Jean Antonucci says she continues to feel unprepared when counseling sick patients about whether the drug could benefit them.

Will it help my glaucoma? Or my chronic pain? My chemotherapy’s making me nauseous, and nothing’s helped. Is cannabis the solution? Patients hope Antonucci, 62, can answer those questions. But she said she is still “completely in the dark.”