Qualified patients to receive up to 30 grams of medical cannabis per month at no cost

Vaughan, ON February 24, 2015 – CannTrust Inc., a licensed producer and distributor of medical cannabis in Canada, today announced CannTrust Access, a comprehensive patient assistance program for medical cannabis compassionate use in Canada.

The CannTrust Access program is a Canadian first in medical cannabis programs and is available immediately to eligible Canadians whose health plans do not reimburse medical cannabis.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 25, 2015) -

Tilray, Canada's leading licensed producer of medical cannabis, has announced the appointment of former pharmaceutical executive Greg Engel as Chief Executive Officer. Engel will lead Tilray's growing team of industry-leading experts diligently working to advance the science, safety and efficacy of medical cannabis for patients and physicians in Canada and around the world. He will split his time between Tilray's operations in British Columbia and Ontario.

Scientific discoveries are published almost daily in regard to the healing properties of the cannabis. But most of these findings appear solely in subscription-only peer-reviewed journals and, therefore, go largely unnoticed by the mainstream media and by the public. Here are five just-published cannabis-centric studies that warrant attention.

1. Men Who Smoke Pot Possess a Reduced Risk of Bladder Cancer

Last week, the Niagara Falls Reporter discussed the political challenges that Lewiston Greenhouse LLC, owned in part by the owners of Modern Disposal, had in winning one of five grower's licenses in New York to grow medical marijuana.

If the decision is based on merit, as opposed to back door dealing, Lewiston Greenhouse has an excellent chance.

Merit may play a larger role than previously expected due to a new culture of fear settling over Albany since the arrest of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and others by Preet Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

There are several reasons why Lewiston Greenhouse will fare well in the category of merit.

Some Republicans in the state legislature may be ready to legalize medical marijuana (though only if it's the non-smokable stuff), but at least one Democrat just wants all weed legalized.

Sen. Dwight Bullard, a Democrat representing Cutler Bay and current chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, introduced SB 1176 yesterday. The bill would effectively legalize marijuana, even for recreational use, in Florida.

Bullard's bill is thoroughly in-depth. It would start by changing the name of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and then it would set up a system to tax marijuana sales (the bill mandates about 5 percent of collected taxes should be used for studies on marijuana's safety and benefits).

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 24, 2015) -

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(CNN)Marijuana smokers now have a new place to put on their bucket lists: Alaska, which on Tuesday became the third state to officially OK marijuana use.

Following Colorado's lead, voters passed the Alaska Marijuana Legalization ballot measure in November. Legalization became official on Tuesday, which means that now "the use of marijuana (is) legal for persons 21 years of age or older."

There are limits to this law, as there are in similar ones in other states. People still can't legally have more than 1 ounce of marijuana on them. Nor can they harvest more than 4 ounces in their home. And consuming marijuana in public and driving while high are no-nos.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are slated to launch in several new states this year, accelerating the MMJ industry’s march across the country.

But it’s difficult to determine the potential size of these markets, as it will largely depend on how many patients register for medical cannabiscards.

So far, patient totals are relatively low in these states.

Just 200 people have signed up for cards in Delaware, where the first and only dispensary allowed is scheduled to open this spring. That represents a miniscule .02% of the population.

A group behind a proposed medical marijuana operation in Lakeshore is taking the federal government to court.

CEN Biotech has applied for a federal judicial review after Health Canada earlier issued a notice it intended to deny the company’s application to operate a medical marijuana facility. The company has called the government’s position “unlawful or unreasonable.”

CEN Biotech accuses Health Canada of acting beyond its jurisdiction and without procedural fairness, according to court documents filed in Toronto.

The federal department is also accused of “breaching confidentiality” by forwarding correspondence to third-parties, including the town of Lakeshore, a move which it claims harmed the company’s standing.

GÖTEBORG, Sweden/SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2015—Heliospectra AB (OTCQB: HLSPY, FIRSTNORTH: HELIO), a world leader in intelligent lighting technology for greenhouse cultivation and plant research, today announced that it has hired Dr. Sue Sisley as Director of Medicinal Plant Research.

As Director of Medicinal Plant Research at Heliospectra, Dr. Sisley provides the company with “in the field” knowledge and customer feedback. Working with growers to develop scalable medicinal plant growing methodologies, Dr. Sisley oversees data collection and reporting protocol with Heliospectra’s medicinal plant cultivators in the US, Canada and globally.