The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act seems to be moving forward in congress as more and more lawmakers respond to the public's growing support for marijuana legalization.

On Tuesday, the CARERS Act gained supporters from both sides of the isle in congress as several new cosponsors signed on.

Growing Support

Representatives Steve Cohen and Don Young introduced the bill to the house last week to what Cohen says was a positive reception.

On Tuesday, Cohen issued a statement saying that both parties are in agreement that federal marijuana legislation needs reform.

So far, the bill has garnered support from six Republicans and six Democrats in the Senate.

Reclassifying Marijuana

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The state has refused to loosen up its stringent medical marijuana rules that prohibit the drug from being smoked and only allow it to be used to treat 10 medical conditions.

The state Health Department has issued final regulations after receiving hundreds of comments from the public. The state expects to get its medical marijuana program off the ground next year.

"Expanding the initial set of regulations would have subjected the State to unnecessary scrutiny and jeopardized the program's ability to move forward in any meaningful manner," the health department said.

What is Glaucoma?

The optic nerve carries signals from the eye to the brain, resulting in vision. Glaucoma can lead to damage of the optic nerve, and untreated, long-standing glaucoma can lead to blindness. In many cases, this damage is caused by an increase in pressure within the eye (intra-ocular pressure), resulting from abnormalities with the amount of fluid in the front portion of the eye, called “aqueous humor“, which is produced by a part of the eye called the ciliary body.

A year after the federal government approved a study for the use of marijuana by veterans in treating post-traumatic stress disorder the work may at last get underway.

The National Institute of Drug Abuse on Wednesday informed the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies that it is ready to supply researchers with marijuana needed for the study, Brad Burge, spokesman for MAPS, told Military.com.

The study will mark the first federally approved study in which the subjects will be able to ingest the marijuana by smoking it, he said. It will also be "the first whole-plant marijuana study," meaning the marijuana will not simply be an extract of the cannabis in a manufactured delivery system, such as a pill.

City council’s approval of a zoning bylaw amendment that would allow medical marijuana production facilities in certain areas of Owen Sound has been appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Owen Sound resident Dustin McGregor plans to argue that the amendment “stifles small business,” contrary to the city’s official plan, and could put the city at risk of a lawsuit if current federal production regulations are deemed unconstitutional, according to documents submitted to city hall.

Council voted Monday night to notify the OMB that it stands behind its zoning amendment decision. It also authorized the city to retain lawyer Harold Elston to represent the city.

A report shows that medical marijuana usage is low over the first 25 months of the program.(Photo: Courier-Post file)

New Jersey is preparing to consider adding conditions that qualify patients for using medical marijuana, Health Commissioner Mary O'Dowd said Wednesday.

She said she will assemble a panel of medical experts to make recommendations.

Under state regulations, the process can start following the release Tuesday of the state's second annual report on its medical cannabis program.

SMITHS FALLS, ON  - The Research and Development team at Tweed Inc. (Tweed) (TSX.V: TWD) have been busy in the lab analyzing an exciting new discovery in the cannabis plants from the latest harvest. When growing marijuana, the environment and the inputs can apparently become a part of the outputs in ways that have never been observed before. The lab results show that the medical marijuana plants have melded with leftover chocolate residue and spontaneously formed a new cannabis terpene, the aromatic compounds that give plants distinct aromas.

"We dubbed it A1-Chocolatene, because of the teardrop shape and the pleasant chocolaty smell it gives off," said Katya Boudko, Tweed's Head of R&D.

Medical Marijuana producer Aphria Inc. was forced to retract a statement the company made in a recent press release on Tuesday, after regulators expressed concern about the accuracy.

The company, based in Leamington, Ontario, announced last week that it had been granted permission by Health Canada to begin shipping the product wholesale to other licenced producers. The company said in the release that it was “the only company currently positioned to sell medical marijuana to other licenced producers.”

However, after scrutinizing that statement, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) asked for a clarification of the matter, and ordered the company’s stock to be halted until a subsequent statement was issued.

OXFORD, Miss. — Support is growing for the federal legalization of medical marijuana.

Legislation led in part by Congressman Steve Cohen is gaining traction with Republicans and Democrats cosponsoring the bipartisan act.

Tuesday WREG spoke with one woman, Kelly Jacobs, who is trying to take that effort a step further in Mississippi.

“I am trying to collect signatures on Ballot Initiative 48,” she said. “We are trying to regulate marijuana like alcohol because regulation works.”

Jacobs is trying to get enough signatures to land the issue of legalizing marijuana on the ballot in Mississippi.

“We need 110,000 by December 29. We have 4,200.”she said.

Story Highlights

• The director of a group behind an initiative to legalize pot in Arizona threatened to target a marijuana dispensary medical director who joined a competing legalization effort.
• The influential Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project and the newly created Arizonans for Responsible Legalization have both said they will pursue initiatives in 2016.
• The documents shed light on conflicting philosophies behind the proposed ballot measures.

The director of a group behind an initiative to legalize pot in Arizona threatened to target the business affairs of a marijuana dispensary medical director who joined a competing legalization effort, documents obtained by The Arizona Republic show.