This year’s presidential race has brought out some of the most contentious, divisive and volatile responses and reactions among American voters. Thankfully, there is one issue almost all of us agree upon—legalizing medical marijuana.

Just how united are voters on MMJ? According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, nearly 90 percent of Americans—81 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats—support medical marijuana legalization.

The cannabis industry may be disproportionately male, but pioneering women across the globe are thinking outside the box to return cannabis to the mainstream of medicine and society. In Colombia, Dr. Paola Pineda Villegas, a surgeon with a master’s degree in the study of HIV and a specialist in medical and sanitary law, is just such a leader. 

Pineda, 37, has been the most cited expert on medical cannabis in Colombia in recent years, as interest in the plant’s medicinal use has grown. She’s been hailed by the press as "the cannabis doctor” and has treated more than a thousand patients. 

Medicinal cannabis advocates in Nelson are among those wanting international input after a "disappointing" review of guidelines for the drug.

A government review of the guidelines released last month said five medical professionals who had made at least one application to prescribe approved medicinal cannabis product Sativex unanimously supported the current rules, suggesting only minor changes.

Requirements to have exhausted all other treatment options to gain approval for Sativex and to be hospitalised if taking unapproved cannabis-based medicine were removed but several advocates said the review didn't go far enough.

Nearly everyone in the country agrees that marijuana, at least for medical use, should be entirely legal. But what does marijuana do to the brain?

Although the Illinois medical marijuana pilot program came limping out of the gate last year, the state’s General Assembly has put its stamp of approval on a bill aimed at upgrading the state of cannabis medicine by extending the program’s expiration date and giving those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and terminal illnesses permission to participate.

Terminally ill patients will soon have to cut through less red tape to get permission from the federal government to use experimental medications, including cannabis, in some states, to ease the suffering in the final days of their life.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced a new compassionate use policy intended to make it easier for physicians to submit the necessary paperwork to gain access to experimental drugs for patients inflicted with serious or immediately life-threatening conditions for which there are no other treatments available.

Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Wednesday legalizing medical marijuana in Ohio, though patients shouldn’t expect to get it from dispensaries here anytime soon.

The bill lays out a number of steps that must happen first to set up the state’s medical marijuana program, which is expected to be fully operational in about two years. The law would allow patients to use marijuana in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions, but bar them from smoking it or growing it at home.

Kasich’s signature made Ohio the 25th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program, according to a count by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some questions and answers about the legislation:

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For decades, cannabis cultivators, dispensaries and patients have faced raids and incarceration for growing, distributing and consuming cannabis.

The constant fear of police, property loss and expensive legal defense costs has created generations of cultivators who invested the bare minimum into materials and infrastructure. Cheap equipment, unlicensed contractors and lack of code-enforcement guidelines created ideal conditions for fire hazards and excessive waste.

A recent Ontario arbitration¹ involved a grievance alleging that the denial of a claim for reimbursement for medical marijuana under a group health plan breached the collective agreement and is a helpful reminder that notwithstanding the attention medical marijuana has received in recent years, there are practical limits and issues for employers to deal with in claims related to medical marijuana.

Facts

The greivor's spouse had a medical document from a licenced physician, which suggested that she ingest three grams of dried marijuana per day for a period of six months to address two medical conditions. The greivor's spouse obtained the recommended dosage of marijuana from a licenced producer as well as a receipt for the purchase.

The global conversation on marijuana legalization has reached its highest volume yet. Already, some countries, the United States included, have pioneered past decriminalization and into some form of legalization. Few have fully legalized marijuana — and have yet to transform into total hellscapes from it.