An advisory board voted Wednesday to add eight health conditions — including chronic pain syndrome, autism, osteoarthritis and post-traumatic stress disorder — to the list of illnesses that can be treated by medical marijuana in Illinois.

The state's Medical Cannabis Advisory Board had expressed frustration last month when Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration rejected its first 11 suggestions for expanding the list of medical conditions. Osteoarthritis and PTSD were on that earlier list, so Wednesday's votes reaffirmed the board's viewpoint and put the matter back in Rauner's hands.

Poll numbers suggest that Florida's march to medical marijuana is inevitably, but it sure is taken a long time to get there. Sure, lawmakers approved non-smokable and non-euphoric "Charlotte's Web" medicinal marijuana for a narrow slice of patients back in 2014, but so far the state has stalled on actually getting that medicine into people's hands. 

Now, two Republican lawmakers have announced they've filed a bill that would allow another narrow segment of patients access to medical marijuana of all strengths and types.  

A new draft law aims to legalize marijuana growing for medical and industrial uses, a controversial idea for a Muslim nation

Kettama, Morocco — In the rugged Rif mountains, Abdelkhalek Benabdallah strode among towering marijuana plants, checking the buds for the telltale spots of white that indicate they are ready for harvest.

Much of the crop had been picked and left to dry on the roofs of stone-and-wood huts that dot the valley, the heart Morocco’s pot-growing region. Benabdallah says he openly grows the crop, while understanding the risk: “We are regularly subject to blackmail by the gendarmes,” he said as he scythed through stalks and wrapped them into a bundle.

As promised, the Pennsylvania Medical Society and Campaign for Compassion shared a guest blog, in which each group explained its stance on medical marijuana.

The goal was to understand the different viewpoints — engage in a constructive debate, so to speak.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society doesn’t support Senate Bill 3, which would legalize the medical use of marijuana for specific illnesses in the state, because of lack of research and lack of FDA approval for the substance's use in treatment. The group urges supporters of the bill to wait, to slow down and do it right.

A newly opened medical marijuana clinic could be a useful resource for Windsor's medical community, but a local physician says doctors likely need to know more about the treatment before they can refer their patients there.

Tim O'Callahan, the president of the Essex County Medical Society, said the Canadian Cannabis Clinics office that opened on Taylor Road is "an interesting option" for doctors who may not personally feel comfortable prescribing marijuana to patients.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Medical marijuanaappears mostly safe for treating chronic pain, at least among people with some experience using the drug, a new study suggests.

People who used pot to ease their pain didn't have an increased risk of serious side effects, compared to people with pain who didn't usemarijuana, a Canadian research team found.

Increasing anecdotal evidence is showing that cannabis is likely therapeutic for autism and other developmental disorders. And many who are finding help are beginning to share their stories with the media which is only fueling a growth in interest for this plant.

An alternative to cannabis for autism may be “entrainment”, examples of which can be found here.

Boston sportscasting icon Bob Lobel is one of the hundreds of patients in Massachusetts who say they have found an effective substitute for opioids by using medicinal marijuana.

The 71-year-old longtime television reporter and anchor has dealt with chronic pain for years, the result of numerous surgeries: He’s had two knee replacements, two rotator cuff surgeries, four back surgeries and, in separate accidents, fractured the tops of both femurs.

“That was brutal,” Lobel told the Herald, referencing the femur breaks. The constant pain left him taking a variety of opioids.

A Mernda family is relieved medicinal cannabis will be grown and sold in Victoria within the next two years.

Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace’s four-year-old son Cooper has severe brain damage, cerebral abscesses, hydrocephalus, epilepsy and cerebral palsy and suffers from daily seizures unless administered with cannabis oil.

Ms Batten said she was overjoyed the state government would legalise access to locally manufactured medicinal cannabis for “exceptional circumstances” as early as 2017.