For the past year and a half, David Hepburn has been travelling Canada, educating his fellow family doctors on why and when to prescribe medical marijuana. Speaking at conferences, sometimes sponsored by the commercial growers licensed by Health Canada, Dr. Hepburn runs through the history of cannabis prohibition and the research that has been done on the plant. He says he is trying to change the minds of a medical establishment loath to endorse a drug that has vast amounts of anecdotal evidence, but scant clinical trials, to support its use. He said cannabis can be a suitable medicine for patients suffering migraines, nerve-related pain, neurodegenerative conditions, such as MS, and symptoms such as insomnia or anxiety.

If it were not for its problematic public image, cannabis, or marijuana, would be one of the most common crops on earth. It is easy and economical to grow, it can quickly spread to fill fields the size of forests, it is used to manufacture fabric and paper, and for thousands of years its flowers have been extracted to produce medicine for various ailments.

In fact, until the 1930s, many pharmacies kept medications that contained cannabis. So, what happened?

The fact that the cultivation and processing of cannabis into textile was cheaper than cotton posed a threat to the American cotton industry, and like many other monopolies that hire lobbyists, the cotton farmers tried to find the best way to eliminate the competition.

Prominent health organizations acknowledge the benefits and lack of side effects of using medical cannabis for controlling chronic pain

Chronic pain is widely accepted by the medical community to signify disease itself, which can be made much worse by environmental and psychological factors. Chronic pain persists over a long period of time and is resistant to most medical treatments. Chronic pain causes severe problems for patients, especially when you have two or more co-existing chronic pain conditions like:

Quality of life takes a hit in healthiest cancer patients, researchers say.

Chemotherapy near death failed to improve quality of life (QOL) for patients with cancer, even those who otherwise were in good health, a review of end-of-life care showed.

Quality of life near death (QOD) deteriorated in patients who had good performance status when they started chemotherapy. Palliative chemotherapy had no impact on QOL among sicker patients, Holly Prigerson, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and colleagues reported online in JAMA Oncology.

Medical marijuana may be used to treat pets for several reasons with immense therapeutic effects, but so far its use on pets is largely unstudied.

Here are four uses where medical marijuana may benefit your furry friend, but talk with your veterinarian before administering it.

Two Medical Marijuana Licenses Granted In Hudson Valley  August 2, 2015    Health    No comments    

New York State has announced the five companies who will be licenses to grow and manufacture medical marijuana, and none are in Western New York.

The state health department in April posted an online application for medical marijuana growing licenses, and forty-three companies applied.

New York’s medical marijuana law is stricter than those in surrounding states.

The building in Hunts Point in the South Bronx is set to be the site of one of New York City’s first medical marijuana dispensaries. By JOSHUA JAMERSON August 1, 2015

The Hunts Point neighborhood in the South Bronx has struggled to clean up its act for years. Prostitution is still a problem, but it is far less prevalent, residents say, than it once was.

A couple of years ago, community leaders and residents helped derail the opening of a strip club. The neighborhood was once home to several strip clubs and now it has none.

UBC’s medical school is rolling out a new curriculum next month, but it won’t include more training on medical marijuana.

Three hours of class time is currently dedicated to the controversial medicine, even though doctors have now become the gatekeepers of the drug.

The Assistant Dean of Curriculum for the medical undergraduate program, Adam Peet, says there are few rigorous studies to guide even experienced physicians, much less medical students.

He was asked if education could be expanded one day.

If elected president, Christie says he'd stomp out legal weed. As governor, he's already done just that.

Earlier this week, Reason's Jacob Sullum wrote about New Jersey Governor and GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie's pledge to enforce the federal ban on recreational marijuana, ignoring the will of the states that've legalized cannabis sales. 

Medical professionals are left in a moral and ethical quandary when it feels like they aren't listening to terminally ill cancer patients who want to try cannabis to relieve symptoms, writes Jennifer Martin.

Life for terminally ill cancer patients is often made more distressing by symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, suppressed appetite and weight loss. In desperation, some turn to the streets to buy and try cannabis.

As doctors, we advise that it's illegal and can't be condoned, even if people say they are getting benefit from using it. 

I'm excited to think that this relatively old drug has the potential to benefit more people at the end of life. 

There may be interactions between cannabis and other drugs we aren't aware of.