MORE than nine out of every 10 Australians (91%) believe the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes should be made legal, according to a special Roy Morgan telephone survey.

Only 7% of respondants to the survey - conducted last week with 644 Australians aged 14+ - are against legalisation and 2% can't say.

This is the first time Roy Morgan Research has asked specifically about the medicinal use of marijuana.

The landslide result comes from widespread support for the legalisation of medicinal marijuana among men and women, different age groups, states of residence and federal voting intention.

Analysis by age and gender

While New York’s medical marijuana program is scheduled to go into effect this January, it is uncertain whether enough doctors will be able to recommend cannabis to the patients who need it most.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that causes widespread muscle and joint pain. Estimates suggest that about five million adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with the condition each year, with women affected at least eight times more often than men.

Norton Arbelaez has met some unusual people in his six years working in the medical marijuana industry, but one patient who gingerly walked into New England Treatment Access in Northampton, the latest marijuana dispensary to open in Massachusetts, took him by surprise.

The patient was seeking relief from gnawing foot pain, a pain the man said had plagued him for 70 years.

“I was really blown away when this older gentleman walked in and he described to me his experience in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II,” said Arbelaez, New England Treatment’s consultant for standards and practices. “His feet froze during that battle [in the winter of 1944], and he said he found a lot of relief from medical cannabis products.”

Dutch pharmacies expect prescriptions for medical marijuana to rise 45% this year, almost double the 25% rise recorded in previous years, according to pharmaceuticals statistics office SFK.

Medical marijuana is not an official medicine in the Netherlands and is not included in the basic health insurance policy. However, the five licenced brands on the Dutch market, produced by the Bedrocan company, are distributed via pharmacies.

In 2012, pharmacies filled some 11,000 prescriptions for medical marijuana but this year the figure is expected to be twice that. The number of users has also doubled form 2,000 to 4,000, the SFK said.

Trials for medical marijuana should be encouraged despite "prejudice" from the medical profession, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says.

The debate over medical marijuana has sparked up after the Australian government announced a licensing scheme to allow the cultivation of cannabis for medical trial purposes this month.

And Mr Dunne says New Zealand was "highly likely" to follow suit if the trial products were approved.

He told TVNZ's Q + A programme it would be "very, very good" to get clinical trials in New Zealand.

"I do think there is a bit of prejudice there in the medical profession.

"At the moment we've got a lot of very general talk, we talk about medical cannabis - actually there's no such thing. There's medical cannabis products.

Citiva Medical, a research company specialising in safe and effective cannabis-based products, is making strides in Jamaica.

In July, Citiva forged a partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, to identify which combinations of cannabinoids are effective at treating specific diseases and symptoms.

"Hopefully, with the help of UWI, Citiva can begin to understand how and why cannabis has been effective at treating the various disease states we've seen success with," said Josh Stanley, founder and CEO of Citiva.

"We are excited to partner with Citiva; they have done so much to advance this industry and people's understanding of the potential benefits of cannabis," said UWI principal Dr Archibald McDonald.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Amid Ohio’s intensifying campaign over legalizing marijuana, the face of Issue 3 is a green-eyed 4-year-old girl named Addyson Benton, who is learning to handle her Barbie trike.

“That’s the goal for this year, to get her to ride,” said Heather Benton, standing in the backyard of the rental house as Addyson slid into the seat, lifted her sunny face and beamed. “But it’s one thing at a time.”

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Public Health Association is hosting a forum on the potential public health impacts of marijuana legalization.

The event will be held on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the Davis Auditorium of the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Organizers say experts will share the results of research on the impacts of legalizing and regulating recreational marijuana.

The session is free and open to the public.

The Vermont Public Health Association is a membership organization aimed at protecting and promoting personal, community and environmental health in Vermont.

DOVER, N.H. (AP) - The New Hampshire Health Department will hold a public forum in Dover to discuss setting up a medical marijuana dispensary.

Temescal Wellness, a nonprofit, was selected by the department to operate the alternative treatment center to serve patients in Strafford, Rockingham and Belknap counties.

The public forum will be held on Monday, Oct. 26, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the McConnell Center in Dover. The purpose is to gather input from residents, qualifying patients and designated caregivers about safety and other local concerns.

Similar forums on proposed dispensary sites have been held in Plymouth, Lebanon, Merrimack and in proposed cultivation sites in Peterborough, Manchester and Rochester.