The highest priority for CLEAR is that doctors should be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis.  The government continues to insist that cannabis has no medicinal value despite the huge amount of evidence that cannabis provides real relief for a range of physical conditions. CLEAR has produced a summary of the evidence for cannabis as a medicine.

Marijuana is quickly becoming the world’s most popular drug and in the UK alone nearly 14 million people have tried the substance, according to recent research. The use of cannabis continues to grow as more studies have revealed the health benefits from its consumption. In Britain it has become the most used illegal drug with nearly 93% of drug users admitting to having tried it.

But what actually happens in your body when you smoke a joint?

A new study that combines the data from the NHS, drug group Frank, Yale University and America’s National Institute for Health has been put together to depict a minute-by-minute breakdown of what cannabis actually does to the body – including why it gives you the munchies.

The Importance of HIPAA Compliant Technologies in the MMJ Industry

London, UK, 6 August 2015: GW Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: GWPH, AIM: GWP, “GW,” “the Company” or “the Group”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for a proprietary intravenous form of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy, or NHIE. In addition, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted orphan designation for the same product to treat perinatal asphyxia, an alternate term that describes the same condition as NHIE, for which GW has already received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA.

With every day that passes, it becomes more important that Gov. Bruce Rauner sign a bill resetting the start date of Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program. At the same time, if only to protect popular support for the pilot program, the governor has good reason to veto, for now, a companion bill that would add to the list of conditions for which medical pot can be subscribed.

The pilot program was expected to run for about four years, enough time to evaluate whether it helps people who are ill without creating unexpected problems. But due to a number of delays, the program has yet to start, and it is scheduled to end Jan. 1, 2018. The bill on Rauner’s desk would reset the start date, allowing the pilot program to get its full run.

Pennsylvania drugmaker Zynerba Pharmaceuticals ($ZYNE) is making its way to Wall Street with some cannabis-derived treatments for central nervous system disorders, raising $42 million in an IPO.

The company priced 3 million shares at $14 each, the middle of its range, and set aside another 450,000 shares for its underwriters to line up for as much as $51.8 million in total.

This summer, anthropologists at Washington State University published new researchabout medical-marijuana use in the Congo Basin. According to their report, the hunter-gatherer Aka people “are characterized by a preference for forest life, polyphonic music… and are generally peaceful and egalitarian with marked gender equity.”

They also smoke. A lot.

Most Americans live in a state where medical marijuana, in some form, is legal. But all marijuana isn’t the same. Different plants have different chemical compositions, and different compositions are better at treating different diseases.

Enter Chris Hudalla. Hudalla studies cannabis to help home growers treat seizures, multiple sclerosis, migraines and other illnesses. The latest film in ESPN Films and FiveThirtyEight’s series “The Collectors” is “Cannabis Chemist,” directed by Jamie Schutz.

Illinois approved about 200 new patient applications for medical marijuana during July, including 10 children.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that 2,800 patients now have approval to use marijuana. It's the first time the department announced how many are younger than 18.

Growers say they'll have marijuana in stores later this year.

Parents of children with severe epilepsy pushed for the expansion of medical marijuana to minors in Illinois. Children are able use the drug for any of the nearly 40 health conditions already authorized for adults, with state approval and a written certification from two doctors. Adult patients need one doctor's consent.

Cutting-edge medical research often calls for support from science-literate lawyers, no more so than in the legalisation of contentious drugs, such as medicinal marijuana, says Dr Teresa Nicoletti.

Dr Nicoletti (pictured) is a partner at Piper Alderman who is currently advising players in the emerging medicinal cannabis industry in Australia. 

She spoke with Lawyers Weekly following an important breakthrough: the approval of a new medicinal cannabis trial by NSW Premier Mike Baird last week.