To make a truly informed cannabis-buying decision, you have to smell the product. And I don't mean taking a dainty whiff. You've got get in there and really inhale, because smelling it — really focusing on the fragrance — may just be the best way to choose your cannabis.

“Depending on what the scent is, it can make or break a strain for people,” said Tyson Dieter, a manager at the Southwest Portland outlet of Nectar, an Oregon cannabis retailer.

Last fall voters in Ohio voted down a ballot initiative to fully legalize the personal use of cannabis in the state. The law had many problems, primary among them the creation of a legal oligopoly favoring the companies lobbying for the bill. It’s hard to say whether the ballot measure would have passed even with a more open structure since, according to Quinnipiac polling, Ohio only supports full legalization by a small margin.

Through unfailing commitment — and a little luck — Helen Garvy stumbled upon a possible solution buried in a particular strain of cannabis. In doing so, she very well may have found an end to the living nightmares.

[The] most important results [of cannabis] are to be found in the mental sphere; as, for instance, in Senile Insomnia with wandering. An elderly person (perhaps with brain softening), is fidgety at night, goes to bed, gets up, thinks he has some appointment to keep, that he must dress and go out. Day, with its stimuli and real occupations, finds him quite rational again. Nothing can compare in utility to a moderate dose of Indian hemp at bedtime.

This past January marked the first month that the state of Oregon collected taxes on the sale of recreational marijuana, marking another milestone in the state’s unfolding experiment with legalized pot.

But it was the amount collected in taxes in January that raised eyebrows in Salem and around the state: The Oregon Department of Revenue pegged the amount at $3.8 million.

Let’s put that number into perspective: Obviously, no one knew for sure what sort of sales would result from the voter-mandated decision to make recreational use of marijuana legal, so state economists admitted that their estimates were little more than guesses. But they figured that Oregon would collect somewhere between $3 million and $4 million in tax revenue a year.

Legalising medical cannabis would give rise overnight to an industry worth up to $150 million, a new study from the University of Sydney has found.

The NSW government will this year commence clinical trials of cannabis-derived medicine for conditions such as chemotherapy-related nausea. The federal government has also passed laws creating a licensing system for future supply of medicinal cannabis.

But a new white paper from the University of Sydney's business school suggests it would have a major secondary effect: the creation of a multi-million dollar industry centring on the cannabis plant.

My last blog post examined the current legal and medical status of using marijuana as medicine. But how about specifically for treating fibromyalgia symptoms?

Many of my fibromyalgia patients report that medical marijuana/cannabis reduces their pain and improves sleep. A study of 28 fibromyalgia patients reported that two hours after use of cannabis they had a significant reduction of pain and stiffness.

The Sisters of the Valley have created a market for remedies made with the drug, but now they've been stopped in their tracks

A group of nuns is kicking against social norms by growing MARIJUANA at their convent - and selling it for medical purposes.

But their healthcare remedies are under threat thanks to removal from a popular online store.

The Sisters of the Valley are a sisterhood based in Merced, California who are not Catholic or traditionally religious, but consider themselves nuns.

When you think of cannabis and innovation, Israel likely doesn't come to mind. But as we've recently highlighted here on MERRY JANE, Israel is advanced when it comes to cannabis-related exploration.

Last week marked the second annual CannaTech conference, an international summit dedicated to accelerating cannabis innovation. 

The three-day event held in the capital city of Tel Avi featured courses on Israel's so-called 'Green Rush' including entrepreneurship, best practices in growing and research on the region's unique relationship with cannabis. It’s easy to see Israel quickly becoming a hub for the global cannabis community - and rightfully so.

With its moat, wall, barbed wire, armed guards and security cameras, the facility could be mistaken for a military base if it weren’t for the pungent odor of marijuana in the air.

Here, on the outskirts of a quiet village in northern Israel, 50,000 plants of 230 varieties grow at the country’s second-largest medical cannabis plantation.

“For cannabis, we are in the promised land with a good climate, 300 days of sunshine each year and perfect levels of humidity,” said Tamir Gedo, head of BOL Pharma, a company authorized by the Health Ministry to grow and distribute medical cannabis.

The recreational use of cannabis is illegal in the Jewish state, but for the past 10 years its therapeutic use has not only been permitted but also encouraged.

Customs has confirmed the long-standing legality of entering New Zealand with prescribed medicinal cannabis products.

On Wednesday, New Zealand Customs communications advisor Prasheeta Ram Taki confirmed the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 has an exemption for people entering the country with up to one month's supply of a controlled drug provided it has been legally prescribed for their own use.

"Customs has not changed its position, however, it is working with the Ministry of Health and Police to ensure that any exemptions are applied in appropriate circumstances," she said.

She said customs officers will seize cannabis at the border when they are not satisfied that the cannabis has been lawfully supplied for the purpose of treating a medical condition.