Good news for marijuana activists! A bill to make legal the use of medicinal marijuana in North Carolina passed its first reading in the General assembly. The bill, created to benefit ill patients, received support from the public and policymakers. The bill opens up people suffering from anorexia, Chron’s and cancer to the option of using medical marijuana.

“It’s logical. It makes sense,” said Representative Kelly M. Alexander, a Democrat. “It really boils down to the fact that there’s evidence that medical marijuana helps in a number of cases like PTSD and [side effects of] chemotherapy.”

Last month, the Globe and Mail ran an editorial questioning whether Health Canada's oversight of medical marijuana had "gone to pot". The piece outlines the history of medical marijuana legislation in Canada, the potential for profiteering by licensed producers, and takes Health Canada to task for the way they have handled the licensing process as well as for the difficulty the government agency seems to be having in regulating medical marijuana. The editorial would have been pretty much spot-on if it wasn't for a glaring error in the opening sentence: "Medical marijuana is a legal drug in Canada." It isn't.

Drugs 101

The U.S. market for legal cannabis is booming, bringing in $2.7 billion last year, according to The ArcView Group. That figure is a 74% jump from 2013.  

AXIM Biotechnologies, a biotech company specializing in cannabinoid research and commercial hemp product development, hopes to cash in on the craze in a very unique and creative way. The New York and Netherlands-based firm manufactures several patent-pending products using cannabis for better health.

“We use unique cannabinoids, which are not psychotropic,” said George Anastassov, AXIM Biotechnologies CEO.  “When people talk about marijuana, they usually think about the psychotropic effects from THC. We utilize certain alkaloids that come from the cannabis plant that have beneficial effects to the human body.”

[JURIST] Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe [official website] on Thursday signed a legislative measure [HB 1445] aimed at permitting use of medical marijuana oils for individuals suffering from severe forms of epilepsy.

Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn lives in Washington, D.C., where he and his family own and operate Takoma Wellness Center.

Congress needs to back off and respect the wishes of D.C. residents to legalize marijuana.

February 27, 2015

Dispensaries and retail cannabis stores in Colorado sold nearly 150,000 pounds of marijuana flower last year as overall demand for MJ soared in the nation’s first recreational market, according to a new report by the state’s Department of Revenue.

The report shows that Colorado’s marijuana sector grew rapidly across the board in 2014, from the number of cannabis business licenses and industry employees to the volume of edibles sales.

February 27, 2015

Recreational marijuana has dominated headlines out of Washington DC this week, as the use, possession and home cultivation of cannabis became legal in the city on Thursday.

But lost in the all the hype is a serious issue for DC’s existing medical marijuana industry: Dispensaries can’t seem to find enough MMJ to meet demand.

This is a mock-up of new marijuana-oil cards that Iowa has started issuing to people with severe epilepsy. The cards allow possession of the oil, but critics say they don’t offer a legal way to obtain the medication.(Photo: Iowa Department of Public Health)

Just nine patients have applied for permission to possess marijuana extract in the month since the Iowa Department of Public Health started accepting applications, administrators reported this week.

The state has started issuing special cards allowing people with severe epilepsy to possess a type of marijuana oil that has little of the chemical that makes recreational users high. Proponents say the oil can help control seizures.

Pot patent(Photo: Bloomberg)

DENVER - It may very well be largest collection of data about marijuana use ever released in human history.

Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division unveiled an official report documenting a trove of information about marijuana and edible pot sales, the size of the industry, and testing results.

The Raw Tonnage

74 tons of marijuana flower were sold in the state, of which only 19 tons were sold as "recreational," telling us medical patients used more than twice as much marijuana flower (buds) as did recreational customers.

President Barack Obama on Thursday said he wants to treat marijuana like tobacco, which is legal. But, in a bit of a contradiction, he also suggested he opposes marijuana legalization.

In an interview with Kansas City news station KMBC, Obama said states could change their marijuana laws to discourage pot use in the same way tobacco use is discouraged: