State Sen. Louise Lucas has been stymied in an attempt to legalize derivatives of the marijuana plant for treating cancer.

Lucas’ legislation, which sailed through the Senate on a 38-2 vote this month, was rejected Monday by a House of Delegates subcommittee after almost no debate, halting its progress for the year.

Lucas, D-Portsmouth, said afterward that she’ll try again next year.

Lucas’ bill, SB343, would have established a legal defense against prosecution for possession of two non-intoxicating marijuana derivatives, cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil, with a doctor’s certification that it is to be used for treating cancer.

After serving in the U.S. Navy for 10 years, Shane O’Neil left the service in 2009 with a lower spine injury and confirmed PTSD. In between and during fits of insomnia, his life was wracked with anxiety and pain. His story is not unique. 

Treatment from the Veterans Administration clinic brought opiates, amphetamines, benzodiazepines and SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) into his life in massive quantities. At his peak, O’Neil was downing 1,400 pills each month.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse aims to bring 'clarity' to national dialogue about pot use among youth

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse took its cross-Canada marijuana myth-busting tour to Ottawa Monday, aiming to clear up misinformation on the drug's safety for young people.

The five-stop tour follows a 2015 report that looked into the health risks of marijuana for young people. The report uncovered wide-spread confusion among youth, and a general lack of information about the effects of the drug.

While it's still controversial, medical marijuana is edging toward normality. Forty states (and the District of Columbia) now have some form of law on the books that allow the drug to be used for a variety of ailments, and sales are soaring— reaching $5.4 billion in 2015.

That doesn't mean it's widely available in all of those states, of course. Some, like Alabama and South Carolina, have extremely strict circumstances under which cannabidiol products can be prescribed, and still forbid the production and distribution of the drug. And even in states where it's easier to come by, there are differences in how it's handled.

The Cannabis Benchmarks Weekly Report tells us that a half-dozen companies who market CBD-laden medicines and foods were sent letters this month from the FDA warning them against making claims of health benefits.

CBD is the shortened name of cannabidiol, a phytocannabinoid chemical prevalent in cannabis, especially when plants are specifically bred by master growers to express this characteristic. CBD medicines are currently available to patients in 23 licensed medical marijuana states, the District of Columbia, and 15 additional states where CBD-based treatments are the only form of medical marijuana legally available to citizens.

Alzheimer’s Disease destroys lives, of both the sufferer and those close to them. Understandably, science is keen to find a solution, and they are looking to cannabis.

Up until very recently, pre-clinical studies have theorised that cannabis could be an effective way of treating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. However, there has been very little research taking it further, until now. According to investigators, a liquid cannabis extract appeared to significantly reduce many of the dreaded symptoms of this disease.

You already know that marijuana is a vegetable, right?

Both leaves and buds of marijuana possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer compounds. They are known as cannabidiols, (CBD) and they are the ones that make marijuana/ cannabis a superfood.

Heating the plant results in complete loss of its beneficial compounds. On the other hand, juicing the marijuana allows you to keep its goodness.

When you heat the plant, a psychoactive compound known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is released. Most people don’t want the medicine to get “high” though. Our bodies are designed to get cannabidiols, which means that you don’t need to heat the plant in order to get its healing properties.

The latest studies have shown that there is no direct link between marijuana, mood swings and depression.

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Although the topic is still under a lot of debate, it would seem that more and more studies emerge in order to refute the latest fad in marijuana-bashing theories according to which pot users can experience mood swings, depression and even schizophrenia. Marijuana does not cause mood swings and depression according to the latest research conducted by a team of psychiatrists.