When I see the youthful curiosity in the Gwen Repetski’s glistening eyes, I feel a fluttering in my heart along with a sensation of lightness. They make me want to dance.

Having cancer is a good enough reason to legally take marijuana in Minnesota. Same with epilepsy or AIDS.

But pain so severe it can drive a person to suicide? No way.

That's the No. 1 problem with the state's new medical marijuana law, according to testimony at a hearing Friday at the state Capitol.

"Please add intractable pain to the list," said Jennessa Lea of St. Paul, a single mom who suffers from a body-deterioration condition.

She was one of 12 people who addressed the Task Force on Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Research. The group met to hear public feedback about the medical marijuana law, which went into effect July 1.

Medical cannabis is now a mainstream alternative to the pharmaceutical industry.  Cannabis is now available medically in much of the developed world and can be prescribed as a medicine widely in USA, Canada, South America and Europe.  

Today Dutch Passion get more questions about the medical uses of cannabis than ever before.  Rather than give our own opinions on this subject we prefer to give the official information provided by the Dutch Ministry of Health.  

A group of parents and advocates is set to announce a new effort next week calling for Georgia to expand its medical marijuana law and allow growers to harvest and distribute their product in-state.

Georgians for Freedom in Healthcare plans to make a formal announcement about the effort Tuesday at the state Capitol with an eye toward the upcoming legislative session that starts in January.

Georgia for the first time this year formally approved the use of a limited form of cannabis oil to treat illnesses including cancer, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. More than 200 families have since qualified for the state’s new medical marijuana registry, allowing them to use the oil for treatment.

Alan Shackelford is intent on finding out why some of his patients respond so well to cannabis. But despite living in Colorado, the US state with some of the most liberal medical marijuana laws, he has had to travel to Israel to continue his research.

Whether you are pro or con on the subject of marijuana in general, medical cannabis is here and happening in Illinois.

GUERNSEY should lead the way in piloting the medical use of illicit drugs such as Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis, a former UK government drugs adviser has said.

Psychiatrist and ex-drugs tsar Professor David Nutt, pictured, who has courted controversy over his stance on drug policy and was sacked by the UK government in 2009, said making cannabis available for medicinal purposes in Guernsey could not only benefit the health of people locally, but also do a great deal for the economy and tourism.

‘I would also suggest maybe a more rational approach to the law surrounding other drugs,’ he said. ‘MDMA was a medicine before it was made illegal.’

Cannabis is a plant that can be used in a wide range of settings such as medical purposes, a source of fiber and oils, or as a recreational drug. Growing evidence has been reported on the clinical benefits of medical marijuana (herbal form) for treating chronic pain. Currently, several countries in the world and almost half of all U.S. states authorize the use of medicinal marijuana.