This is big news for medical marijuana in Germany.

Germany may soon join the ranks of many other countries and states within the United States by adopting a policy that would allow for the wide use of medical cannabis to alleviate pain. The German Drug Commissioner Marlene Mortler announced that Germany will be aiming to set up a Cannabis Agency to regulate cannabis use in a medical setting.

This would not allow for patients to grow the plant on their own, but would grant access to those in need. Likely, companies will be certified to grow cannabis and then distribute to patients, which is currently what is happening in Canada.

Most people smoke weed without many health problems, and stop without difficulty – but some users go on to become dependent on the drug.

Researchers have unravelled one reason why this week, and it could be partly genetic.

People who’ve suffered childhood abuse are particularly vulnerable – but having one particular genetic variation seemed to protect against dependence.

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis focused on 1,558 Australian survivors of childhood trauma – in particular sexual abuse.

Even among survivors of abuse, not all went on to become dependent. But those who did had one particular variation within the body’s endocannabinoid system – the system which cannabis affects.

Recreational marijuana was introduced to the Plateau a year ago when two retail stores set up shop on the outskirts of Buckley.

And coming this summer, The Green Door and Mr. Bills of Buckley will both be expanding their businesses to include stocking and selling medical marijuana. It is an option allowed to them by Senate Bill 5052, also known as the Cannabis Patient Protection Act, which was passed last July.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -

Florida legislators may change the law to allow terminally ill patients to use marijuana.

A House panel on Tuesday approved a bill that would change the state's recently enacted "Right to Try Act." That law allows patients with less than a year to live to take experimental drugs.

Supporters of the measure (HB 307) say terminally ill patients should have access to marijuana so they don't have to rely on drugs such as morphine to relieve their pain. Patients would not be allowed to smoke or inject pot.

Oliver Osborn has migrating partial epilepsy, suffers 100 seizures a day
Being given controversial US cannabis treatment dubbed Charlotte’s Web
Drop of liquid drug put under tongue of the sufferer to reduce seizures

By Mia De Graaf

A 10-month-old boy who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy is being treated with cannabis.

Oliver Osborn has migrating partial epilepsy, provoking up to 100 seizures a day.

Victims rarely live beyond the age of seven.

However, in a desperate bid to find a cure, his parents are raising money to afford a new treatment from America – that involves liquid marijuana.

CHICAGO – Warning: Marijuana use during pregnancy and breast-feeding poses potential harms.

That message would be written on medical and recreational marijuana products and posted wherever they’re sold if the nation’s most influential doctors group has its way.

The American Medical Association agreed Monday to push for regulations requiring such warnings be written on medical and recreational pot products and posted wherever they’re sold. The decision was made based on studies suggesting marijuana use may be linked with low birth weight, premature birth and behaviour problems in young children.

Critics say evidence of harm is weak, but while advocates agree that more research is needed, they say erring on the side of caution makes sense.

Current consumers of cannabis are 50 percent less likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome as compared to those who have never used the substance, according to findings published online ahead of print in The American Journal of Medicine.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors, including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and abdominal fat, which are linked to increased risk of heart disease and/or type 2 diabetes, among other serious health consequences.

A severely autistic teenager has inspired a major law change requiring school districts to allow minors under medical marijuana care to receive those treatments on school property. The law is a first in the nation.

“We didn’t think it would ever happen,” Lora Barbour, the mother of that teen —16-year-old Genny Barbour of Maple Shade, N.J., pictured above — told CBS Philly this week. “A godsend.”

Unthinkable two decades ago, parents are joining together to fight for their children’s right to use marijuana – and many legislators and researchers are standing with them.

For some teenagers, this might seem like a dream come true, but for Stephanie Ayotte, who has an extreme form of epilepsy, the hope is not to get high: it’s to get better.

These dedicated parents – Jennifer and Andy Ayotte, Beth and Patrick Collins, and Paige Figi – among many others, have worked hard to expand access to medical marijuana because it has dramatically reduced, or even eliminated, the occurrence of severe uncontrollable seizures that are not treatable with conventional drugs.

Genetic variation within the endocannabinoid system may explain why some survivors of childhood adversity go on to become dependent on marijuana, while others are able to use marijuana without problems, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

"We have long known that childhood adversity, and in particular sexual abuse, is associated with the development of cannabis dependence. However, we understand very little about the individual difference factors that leave individuals vulnerable or resilient to these effects," said Ryan Bogdan, PhD, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences and a senior author of the study.