MEXICO CITY  - Mexico's Senate approved the report of a bill proposed by President Enrique Peña, but refused to raise the amount consumers are allowed to carry from 5 to 28 grams.

The proposed law has the objective to leave behind the war on drugs and punitive prohibitionism, and was approved at a special session of the joined committees: Health, Human Rights, Interior and Legislative Studies of the Senate.

The legislative opinion "decriminalized planting, growing and harvesting marijuana in national territory, when used for medicinal and scientific purposes, to which Mexico has its own controlled industry for this substance."

The Assembly has passed legislation that would allow qualified New Jersey residents with post-traumatic stress disorder to get medical marijuana treatment.

The Democrat-led Assembly voted 55-14, with seven abstentions on Thursday. The bill heads to the Senate for consideration.

The legislation approves the disorder for treatment with marijuana only if it’s not treatable with conventional therapy.

Marijuana is currently approved in New Jersey to treat multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer and muscular dystrophy, among other medical diseases. It’s also approved for seizures and glaucoma if those conditions are resistant to conventional treatment.

The National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT), the Argentine entity responsible for controlling drugs and medical treatments in the country,  on Tuesday approved the use of 85 treatments for "compassionate" use of cannabinoid-based facts.

So far this year, the ANMAT has authorized 85 patients to import medicinal products derived from marijuana for compassionate use. Mostly cannabidiol oil, the main component of the cannabis sativa plant, popularly known as marijuana.

The head of the ANMAT, Carlos Chiale, confirmed to the Health Commission of the Chamber of Deputies that Argentine entity has already authorized the entry of 85 bottles of products with cannabidiol in the last 6 months.

Medical Cannabis company MMJ PhytoTech (ASX:MMJ) has added to its senior management and advisory personnel Stanislav Sologubov as Chief Executive Officer of Satipharm Switzerland and John Hollister as a strategic pharmaceutical consultant.

The key appointments are in line with MMJ’s intended evolution towards a pharmaceutical business model in which the company plans to commercialise Medical Grade Cannabis and high potential cannabis based therapeutics products to the international market and in line with medical cannabis laws.

Managing Director of MMJ, Andreas Gedeon had the following to say in the announcement to the market:

A medical marijuana dispensary hosted a symposium on pain Tuesday in Portsmouth, telling attendees that marijuana is being used to successfully treat some types of chronic pain.

Many of those who attended expressed frustration. They say they’ve tried in vain to get their doctors to certify them to receive medical marijuana cards.

Michelle Poulin has Crohn’s Disease and says she’s been trying for months to find a doctor who will agree to certify her, and thereby allow her to apply for a card that admits her into medical marijuana dispensaries.

“I want to get off pain pills, and I want to do this legally,” Poulin explained.

Anne Hooper was also at the symposium expressing difficulty in finding a local doctor who believes marijuana is an effective medicine.

By Katie Klabusich, The Influence

I don’t know how you’ve been functioning.”

My new psychiatrist’s assessment may seem harsh when you read it, but to me her matter-of-fact words came as a massive relief.

The Quebec College of Physicians made it mandatory for doctors and patients to take part in a research study if they wanted access to cannabis. But tracking the use of medical marijuana in the province has proven to be a challenge.

The cannabis community is typically a generous bunch that loves to share (for proof, witness the altruistic glory of the communal bong). However, there's more than one way to demonstrate goodwill towards your fellow man. Every year, on June 14th, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. This year’s theme is "Blood connects us all." The campaign aims to focus on thanking blood donors and highlighting the dimension of "sharing" and "connection" between blood donors and patients.

Dude, where’s my car? Cheech & Chong. Jeff Spicoli. Harold & Kumar. Popular culture is littered with references to lovable – yet, usually forgetful – “stoners.” Cannabis and poor memory seem to go hand in hand, right? But, what does the science really say about cannabis and its effect on the ability to remember?

It’s quite remarkable how many ‘success’ stories are out there when it comes to using cannabis for medicinal purposes. If we consider cancer, for example, many people have used or incorporated medical marijuana into their healing routine. One great example is Mykala Comstock. Mykala had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a very rare and aggressive form of childhood leukaemia. In July of 2012, doctors discovered a basketball-sized mass of lymphoblasts in her chest. Her mass was so large that she was not able to be sedated for risk of death from the pressure on her esophagus and heart. Chemotherapy wasn’t working, so it got to the point where doctors strongly recommended a bone marrow transplant along with full body radiation.