OPINION: The call grows louder to relax the laws around "medicinal cannabis". Union leader Helen Kelly, who has terminal cancer, has given it new voice with her own forceful appeal to the Government.

"If a doctor says I would benefit from this, then who is Peter Dunne to decide whether I will or not?" Kelly asks.

Good question. As the law stands, Dunne, the associate health minister, must give his blessing before any cannabis-related treatment can be used on a patient in New Zealand, even the sole such drug already approved here.

He should not have this power; it should belong to doctors and medical authorities, who can decide whether a drug is safe and effective, just as they do with almost every other drug.

An addiction psychiatrist has said smoking marijuana does not necessarily cause addiction to other drugs later in life, contradicting the common theory it is a 'gateway drug'.

Dr Kevin Hill, a director at McLean psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University was answering questions about marijuana on Reddit, when he shared his opinion.

OK, so the Declaration of Independence was not, as urban myth would have it, written on hemp (the said document was written on parchment). But 239 years later, this ultra-versatile super seed is finally gaining traction as a food ingredient in the United States, according to the world’s largest hemp foods manufacturer.

It’s been a long time coming, says Mike Fata, CEO of Canadian firm Manitoba Harvest, which was instrumental in securing a change in the law such that it became legal to grow industrial hemp for commercial use in Canada in 1998, and now sells hemp food products in 8,000 stores in North America from Sprouts to Kroger and Costco.

Kingston, Jamaica -- The University of the West Indies, Mona (UWI) made history this past July by establishing itself as the world's premier institution for the research and development of marijuana and its use in the field of medicine. This was made possible through a partnership with CITIVA, LLC, which is a medical research company specializing in safe and effective cannabinoid products. 

This week it was revealed there is a support for a cross-party Federal Bill that could see medical cannabis legally grown and prescribed to patients as early as next year.

So far, so good.

But I fear the devil may be lurking in the detail and that the move might have missed some parts that matter.

Importantly, because they have been so slow and apply to only a small group, the positive changes will make little immediate difference to most who are currently accessing medical cannabis illegally.

At the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, 45,000 runners received a surprise in their official participation kits next to their water and protein bars: an informational pamphlet from one of the race’s sponsors promoting medical marijuana in Illinois.

The educational insert came from the state’s largest legal medical cultivator Cresco Labs, who says this is the first time a mainstream athletic event in the United States has included sponsorship from a medical marijuana group.

The Endocannabinoid System:

Endocanabinoids and their receptors are found throughout the body in the brain, organs, connective tissue, glands and immune cells. In each tissue, the cannabinoid system performs different tasks, but the goal is always the same—homeostasis (maintain stable internal environment regardless of fluctuations in the external environment).

The purchase and use of marijuana for medical purposes became legal in Croatia on Thursday as the country became the first Balkan state to join the global trend towards softening legislation on the drug.

A medical committee set up by the health ministry decided in January this year that the state should proceed with its legalisation because it can be useful for treating some illnesses, according to what it said was “the latest scientific and medical knowledge”.

Doctors will be able to prescribe medicine, teas and ointment containing THC, the active element in cannabis, to their patients. Regulations permit each patient to receive up to 0.75 grammes of THC per month.

CRANBURY, N.J., (CBS) — The New Jersey Department of Healthannounced on Wednesday that the fifth facility allowed to dispense medical marijuana in the state has received a permit.

The permit was issued to Breakwater Treatment and Wellness in Cranbury, Middlesex County and allows the facility to operate as an Alternative Treatment Center (ATC).

Hawaii’s first system of medical marijuana dispensaries are slated to open next summer, but certain rules adopted this past July are already in effect for current patients and caregivers.

Medical marijuana has been legal in the Islands since 2000.

The patient registry program was transferred earlier this year from the Hawaii Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health.

The health department’s new administrative rules were adopted July 18.

The rules include the mandate of tagging marijuana plants, mandatory possession of registration cards, and additions to the list of medical conditions that make a patient eligible to use cannabis as a medication.