100 more doctors to be authorized to issue licenses and prescriptions to patients in need.

In a move that should make medical marijuana more easily accessible to patients, the Health Ministry plans to train and authorize 100 additional physicians to dispense prescriptions and licenses, nearly triple the number that are currently authorized to do this. Some 23,000 Israelis have permits to use medical marijuana and it is thought that many thousands more might benefit from it. However, today there are only 36 physicians authorized to issue such permits — 18 belong to the ministry’s medical cannabis unit, while the others are oncologists at various hospitals across the country. Unless one is a cancer patient, receiving a permit is a long drawn­ out process.

Fibromyalgia continues to be a poorly understand disease. Doctors believe that people who have the disorder may interpret pain signals differently from others, making them prone to chronic discomfort. The disorder can be so disabling that a full half report difficulty holding a job, despite getting medical treatment for the condition. Characterized by all-over body soreness, to the point of lack of mobility, some doctors and psychologists have said it is a psychiatric condition – caused by depression, anxiety, or life problems. This has seemed to be pervasive in the medical community and makes it difficult for those who suffer from the syndrome to get adequate medical treatment and pain relief.

Judging by the over half-million Google search results garnered by it, it’s no doubt that cannabis oil has become a popular topic as of late — especially as a potentially miraculous treatment for any number of devastating conditions like cancer.

But what exactly is cannabis oil and are the claims about it too good to be true? Let’s take a brief look.

A CONCENTRATED BURST 

Cannabis oil is merely the concentrated, distilled form of the plant most commonly known as marijuana, with all the plant material stripped away via a solvent. Though it’s also used with other oils to whip up an assortment of edible pot-infused treats, cannabis oil has achieved the most notoriety for its possible medicinal uses.

Since 1974 studies have revealed that cannabis has anti-tumor impacts. The results of the 1974 research, reported in Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that cannabis’s THC, “slowed the development of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in lab mice, and lengthened their lives by as much as 36 percent.” In 1975 a short article in the Journal of the National cancer institute titled “Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids,” they reported that “Lewis lung adenocarcinoma growth was retarded by the oral administration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinol (CBD). Mice treated with THC for 20 successive days with THC and CBD had reduced main growth size.”

Driving past the gravel driveway that leads to an unremarkable rural bungalow just outside the Village of Cremona, most would never know the property is also home to the fastest growing manufacturer of medical marijuana in Canada.

Just beyond the rustic homestead, encircled by a stout, chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, sits a massive one-storey factory that this year is expected to produce 7,000 kg (about the weight of a full-grown African bull elephant) of cannabis for patients who’ve found relief for a wide range of symptoms thanks to a new frontier of medicine.

The makers of the MediPen vaporiser are confident that by setting a precedent for testing cannabis products with this reputable body, it will have a huge impact on the public’s perception of cannabis.

A cannabidiol (CBD) vaporiser that has helped thousands of people suffering from a variety of conditions is being tested by an NHS unit, an unprecedented step that could increase scrutiny on cannabis’ medical benefits and have a huge impact on the UK’s draconian legislation on it.

New York medical marijuana distributors have yet to make a profit eight months after medical pot went legal in the Empire State, the Albany Times Union reported Sunday. There are simply too few patients in New York because of a lengthy qualification process that makes it hard for residents to purchase legal pot. 

Last week Ottawa announced it was going to make it easier to bring in temporary foreign workers. More and more of what we produce in Canada relies on such workers. You can add marijuana to that list; and even if you don’t use it, this story involves you.

The story begins in 1974. That’s when Terrance Parker, a severe epileptic, started to treat his condition with marijuana. For Parker it was a choice between reducing the effects of a life-threatening health condition and the risk of imprisonment. In 1997 he was charged with possession and cultivation of a controlled substance.

Medical marijuana supporters in Georgia were hoping for something different from the federal government, not its recent ruling that cannabis should remain off-limits.

Georgians like Janea Cox of Monroe County want to be able to get medical cannabis just like other prescriptions instead of breaking the law to seek therapies for themselves or their loved ones, The Telegraph reported.

It was difficult to hear news of Thursday's ruling from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Cox told the Macon newspaper. The agency decided that marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, which includes heroin and LSD, The Associated Press reported.

On August 11, 2016, Health Canada announced the new Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). These new regulations will replace theMarihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) when they come into force on August 24, 2016, and are being implemented as a result of the Federal Court ruling in the case of Allard v. Canada. These new regulations will allow for reasonable access to cannabis for medical purposes for Canadians who have been authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes by their health care practitioner.