But members agreed: no more jail for marijuana offenses

DENVER -- Family physicians were divided over whether marijuana should be legalized for recreational use or simply decriminalized, but agreed that jail time for marijuana offences served no good.

After her epilepsy was treated with CBD oil, Lily became “alive” again

Patients with chronic pain who used cannabis daily for one year did not have an increase in serious adverse events compared to pain patients who did not use cannabis, according to a new study.

“This is the first and largest study of the long term safety of medical cannabis use by patients suffering from chronic pain ever conducted,” says lead author Mark Ware, associate professor of family medicine and anesthesia at McGill University.

“We found that medical cannabis, when used by patients who are experienced users, and as part of a monitored treatment program for chronic pain over one year, appears to have a reasonable safety profile.”

A new study conducted on the medical consumption of cannabis came up with some good news, and some bad news: for starters, while there were some adverse effects on consumers, no serious effects were reported. However, the reduction in pain also seems to be very small.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -

Representatives from the governor’s office and state Legislature gathered Wednesday to hear Florida economist’s projections for revenue from a potential expansion of medical marijuana. They’re using data from 20 other states that have already legalized pot for medical use.

"Estimating how doctors will be involved and how they’ll treat this, and what people will do and the behavioral side of it is much harder, and that’s really what we’re looking to other states for," said Florida Chief Economist Amy Baker.

Potential revenue could shift either way based on what types of diseases are covered by medical marijuana.

Supporters said hundreds of millions of dollars could be at stake.

As a physician who works at the FDA, I get a lot of questions from my medical colleagues. Well, sometimes they are questions -- and other times they are merely venting frustrations. "Why don't you regulate drug prices? Why are there so many drug ads on television? What the heck is a biosimilar?"

But as more of my friends learn what I actually do, they've been asking me just how does the FDA make decisions on whether or not to approve a drug. Specifically, they want to know how many people are needed in clinical trials to make decisions on whether a drug works, and if it is safe. I don't know about you, but I don't think this was ever covered in a pharmacology class.

Montreal, September 29, 2015-- A Canadian research team led by Dr. Mark Ware from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Montréal has completed a national multicentre study looking at the safety of medical cannabis use among patients suffering from chronic pain. They found that patients with chronic pain who used cannabis daily for one year, when carefully monitored, did not have an increase in serious adverse events compared to pain patients who did not use cannabis. The results, which have been published online in The Journal of Pain, will serve as a benchmark study on the side effects of cannabis when used in pain management.

Georgia-based clinical trials have shown early promise in using cannabis oil to treat epileptic seizures, although researchers said they won’t know for sure until at least the end of next year what strides they have made in the study of medical marijuana.

The update came Wednesday during the latest meeting of the state’s Commission on Medical Cannabis, formed earlier this year to study the effect of Georgia’s new medical marijuana law and whether it should be expanded to allow growers to harvest and distribute cannabis oil in-state.

People who experience chronic pain can go for years without relief, jumping from one medication to the next without necessarily relieving any of their symptoms.

But hope for these conditions has been found in the form of medical marijuana — as long as doctors continue to study it and prescribe it.