Cannabis—marijuana, hashish—was used as a go-to medical remedy by societies around the world for centuries. But the therapeutic use of marijuana was banned in most countries in the 1930s and '40s due to a growing awareness of the dangers of addiction. The significant medical benefits of marijuana in alleviating symptoms of such diseases as Parkinson's, cancer, and multiple sclerosis have only recently been reinvestigated.

Some parents of severely ill children say that prescription drugs expose their kids to dangerous side effects. Some want to try medical marijuana, and they seek wider access to the drug in Michigan.

Bella Chinoni is given one of her three daily doses of CBD-concentrated olive oil. Dad Denny Chinonis says Bella’s eye contact now “is getting stronger.”

In Grand Blanc, near Flint, a family gives daily doses of olive oil infused with medical marijuana to their 6-year-old daughter afflicted with a life-threatening seizure disorder.

People sit at a seminar for medical marijuana in a hotel in Quincy. QUINCY, Ill. (WGEM) -

A workshop for people looking to work in the medical marijuana business was held Saturday at the Town N Country Inn and Suites in Quincy.

Herbal Remedies Dispensary Manager Andy Schnack says Saturday was meant to educate people on what it means to work in a dispensary and what information potential employees would need to know when it comes to recommending products to patients. 

Schnack says there was a small exam at the end of workshop and those who passed received a certificate of completion. 

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Hawaii's medical marijuana law doesn't automatically protect a patient whose results come up positive during random drug testing by their employer.  
"If they have a zero-tolerance policy for drug use they can still fire you," Rep. Karl Rhoads said.

Rhoads chairs the House Judiciary Committee. He said under state law medical marijuana users have no workplace protection, plus the federal government considers cannabis a Schedule 1 narcotic.
 
"There's going to continue to be tension between states that have at least partially legalized pakalolo and the federal government. And this is an area where it crops up very prominently," he said.

Recent work published by researchers in Barcelona has just uncovered more details about the neurochemical pathway that leads to marijuana’s psychoactive effects, specifically its effects on memory. Not only did they make a breakthrough in the neurochemistry of cannabis, they also designed a compound that was able to block THC’s effects on memory in mice.

In Michigan, residents are permitted to submit medical conditions to LARA (the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs) in order for the Michigan Medical Marihuana Review Panel to review whether there is ample evidence that cannabis may offer palliative relief in the treatment of that condition. It is the voter’s intent to protect those with debilitating medical conditions that may receive palliative relief from cannabis. When the panel is provided sufficient evidence, it is their mandate to ensure that new medical conditions be added to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis.

The United States has a problem with painkillers. During the past 15 years, America has seen a tremendous growth in both the sales of prescription opiates and the number of people who die each year from abusing them. More than 16,000 people fatally overdosed on prescription painkillers in 2013, accounting for 60% of all overdose deaths, according to the Center for Disease Control. But a new study suggests that some states have already stumbled onto a means of curbing this fatal epidemic: Easily-accessible marijuana.

BROCKTON (CBS) – After years of delays and controversy, the first medical marijuana dispensary in Massachusetts opened for business just a month ago in Salem, with a long line of patients waiting to make their first purchase. But get this. The website for the Alternative Therapies Dispensary says it is “sold out” of medicine for the time being. The next marijuana dispensary set to open is in Brockton. We took a closer look Friday, and found business ready to bloom.

My Interview with Steve Mister, President of the Council for Responsible Nutrition

Herbs Under the Magnifying Glass

States that have legalized medical marijuana and provide it through dispensaries to patients in need are seeing falling rates of deaths due to opiate-based narcotics, according to a study reported on by the website Vox.