Children afflicted with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy, have been effectively treated with a cannabis-based drug, Epidiolex, containing cannabinoids, the GW Pharmaceuticals announced Monday. Investors snapped up shares of the little-known firm, effectively doubling the company’s market value overnight. 

GW Pharmaceuticals are seeking approval for Epidiolex from U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Analysts expect GW Pharmaceuticals Epidiolex to cost $2,500 to $5,000 a month, which would be more expensive than some of the medical marijuana products, which cost from about $100 to more than $1,000 per month. However, Epidiolex might be covered by insurance, unlike the other products.

Speaking at a drug abuse summit in Atlanta, the US president committed to tackling heroin and prescription opioid epidemic with prevention and treatment.

Obama speaking at a National Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia on 29 March 2016. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Barack Obama committed Tuesday to take on America’s growing heroin and prescription opioid epidemic by devoting resources to prevention and treatment, rather than to the “war on drugs” policies of the last few decades.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed legislation that allows dispensaries to sell marijuana-infused edibles and extracts to people 21 and older. The Oregon Health Authority must first draft rules for the new products before shops can begin selling them.

Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed a bill that allows anyone 21 and older to purchase marijuana extracts and pot-infused edibles from Oregon dispensaries.

The provision is part of Senate Bill 1511, which also allows recreational pot shops to sell tax-free medical marijuana to patients.

Medical cannabis will be a long-term prospect, and many patients have unrealistic expectations of the drug

Legislation on medicinal cannabis is a good move for the management of health conditions where these products can meet a therapeutic need, says Kos Sclavos.

Under the new arrangements, patients with a valid prescription can possess and use a medicinal cannabis product manufactured from cannabis plants legally cultivated in Australia, where the supply is appropriately authorised under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and relevant state and territory legislation.

This is after other treatments have been shown that they were not successful.

The vast healing properties of the cannabis plant are becoming more and more widely known. The actual scientific knowledge behind why and how cannabinoids are an invaluable treatment and medication is sadly not widespread. Often misunderstood and misinterpreted, some studies involving the treatment and effects of cannabis on medical patients have sometimes been taken into the realm of pseudoscience by otherwise well-meaning cannabis activists and advocates. As with anything else in life, it’s imperative we have all the facts down before we attempt to explain them to others.   

As the legality of cannabis drifts through a period of flux, the spotlight of scientific research is rarely far away. A new study, following heavy cannabis users, yields further insight into the drug's financial and social ramifications.

Both legal and public opinion of cannabis is changing in America.

Today, in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the possession and sale of cannabis for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes is legal.

Alongside these four states, another 15 are considering legalizing recreational cannabis use.

Washington, DC, legalized the personal use (but not commercial sale) of cannabis in 2015.

And a national survey conducted in 2013 found that 52% of Americans thought marijuana should be made legal.

A cannabis club in Colorado Springs is handing out free marijuana to military veterans, hoping to give them relief from issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain they suffer from after returning home from deployment in war zones.

Over the weekend, the Veteran Farmers Alliance group handed out more than half a pound of pot and marijuana edibles – worth about $1,400 – to veterans in Colorado Springs. The group’s founder, Steve Defino, said other groups should also be doing the same thing and that marijuana was essential for him to deal with his PTSD, which he has fought for a decade.

Already a pioneer in high-tech and cutting-edge agriculture, Israel is starting to attract American companies looking to bring medical marijuana know-how to a booming market back home.

Since 2014, U.S. firms have invested about $50 million (34.9 million pounds) in licensing Israeli medical marijuana patents, cannabis agro-tech startups and firms developing delivery devices such as inhalers, said Saul Kaye, CEO of iCAN, a private cannabis research hub.

"I expect it to grow to $100 million in the coming year," Kaye said at iCAN's CannaTech conference in Tel Aviv this month, one of the largest gatherings of medical marijuana experts.

Legalisation and acceptance of medical cannabis as a cure or therapy for certain clinical ailments is gaining global traction.

As cities across the globe act to industrialise medical cannabis, several companies have begun to position themselves as first movers in product development and distribution.

MMJ Phytotech (ASX:MMJ) is one such company establishing itself in this space.

MMJ is developing quickly and has identified key priorities moving forward, one is to leverage its offshore operations in Australia by importing CBD capsules from Switzerland which are similar to those currently selling in Europe.

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and one of the most recognized speakers in drug-policy circles, doesn’t mince words when he gets up to talk at marijuana industry events. “Frankly,” he often says, “I am not interested in meeting most you.” The only people he wants to talk to, he tells his audiences, are those who are going to make a lot of money in the new marijuana industry in an ethical way and are interested in certain social issues that could make them ideal foot soldiers in the wider struggle against the global war on drugs.