In a groundbreaking move for a group of its kind, a leading organization opposed to marijuana legalization released a report Thursday that seeks a major overhaul of marijuana research in the United States, calling on the federal government to recognize the medical value of cannabis.

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, called his group's research recommendations a "third way," positioning them between the concepts of legalization -- which the group continues to oppose -- and full prohibition, on a call Thursday.

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Veterans Affairs officials are blocking an Arizona-based medical marijuana researcher from giving a lecture to health care providers at the facility.

Dr. Sue Sisley has requested permission on multiple occasions to give a so-called Grand Rounds Lecture at the Phoenix VA.

During the lecture, Sisley said she would have an opportunity to explain the details of her study of the effects of marijuana on veterans with PTSD to the facility's medical staff.

"They have the golden opportunity to refer military veterans to a federally legal study," Sisley said of why she wants to deliver the lecture.

When asked why Sisley has not been allowed a Grand Rounds Lecture, Phoenix VA Director Glen Grippen said, "She has already done that."

The Legislature has taken steps to expand the availability of medical marijuana to Minnesota hospitals when it becomes legal in July.

When state lawmakers approved the original law authorizing health care providers to dispense the drug, they didn't include hospitals where terminally ill patients could end up.

That left hospitals wondering what they would do for patients who use medical marijuana, and whether they could allow it.

The Legislature has added hospitals to the list of facilities that can control, dispense and manage the use of cannabis inside their systems, said Manny Munson-Regala, an assistant state health commissioner. Gov. Mark Dayton signed off on the change, he said.

I think that the groundbreaking approach by an anti-legalization group calling for a regulatory way to study medical marijuana under academic supervision is the right way to evaluate the potential use of this highly debated drug. 

The group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, appears to be the first of its kind to make moves that would hopefully allow for more efficient research of medical marijuana and its component cannabidiol (CBD).

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Robert Marley Foundation has donated $15.4 million in equipment to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, the St Ann’s Bay Hospital, and the Women’s Health Network.

According to a press release from the foundation, the Bustamante Hospital received two Touchscreen Patient Monitors, two Mobile Stands with Baskets, four Aneroid Mobile and Desktop Blood Pressure Units, one Nebulizer, five Handheld Pulse Oximeters, and a set of PP1 Chairs.

If you are at all interested in cannabis as a growing industry you are already aware that while the US Federal Government labels marijuana a schedule 1 drug with no medicinal benefits, they also hold a patent titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” which was awarded in 2003. And while possession of the flower remains a serious criminal offence, President Obama and the US Attorney General have decided to allow individual States to determine their own set of rules within their borders.

Two bills aimed at softening the state's penalties on marijuana that died last year have been resuscitated with the help of an unlikely partner: The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association.

As many lawmakers have found out over the years, it can be nearly impossible to convince other legislators to support bills that are opposed by Louisiana Sheriffs. The influential organization's members packed a committee hearing on a bill last year seeking to reduce the state's tough marijuana penalties, and the committee moved swiftly to kill it shortly after.

With the Apple Watch now fully released, developers are fast at work linking their current apps to the Apple Watch or creating entirely new types of apps to make use of the Apple Watch. The following are the types of medical apps the physician editors at iMedicalApps would be interested in seeing made for Apple Watch.

1) Patient education apps

Functionality: Ability to educate patient’s at bedside using your Apple Watch

Paediatrics cannabis therapy is saving lives, and awareness around this topic is imperative. I wrote an article last March about Brave Mykayla, and now she’s made a video that can help spread awareness about cannabis and its effectiveness in treating cancer. Her parents reached out to us and thanked us for spreading her message, and we will continue to do so as long as Mykayla does so.

Britain is now home to its first-ever cannabis pharmacy.

Called Carun, the pharmacy was set up by Czech entrepreneur Michal Takac, who told the Daily Mail that he started using hemp-based products after an industrial accident seven years ago in which he lost three fingers, underwent several surgeries and was eventually fitted with custom-made prosthetic fingers that function with electromagnetic electrodes.

When synthetic prescription creams did him no good for scarring and pain, he discovered Carun ointment—made from hemp oil in the Czech Republic where the hemp is grown.