Cannabis might provide more relief from chronic pain than prescription drugs, new research suggests.

The large Australian study found that use of the illegal drug for pain relief is common among people with chronic pain, such as low back pain, neck pain and migraines.

The study also found that cannabis users report greater pain relief in combination with prescription opioids, such as morphine and oxycodone, than when opioids are used alone, the researchers said.

The study of 1500 Australians, led by researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW, is expected to intensify the debate about allowing cannabis use for medical purposes.

The Hebrew University tech transfer company will collaborate on a novel delivery system.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem technology transfer company Yissum Research Development Co. Ltd. has signed an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with PhytoTech Medical Ltd. for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a novel delivery system to enhance the bioavailability of cannabidiol (CBD) and/or THC. These are the active ingredients in cannabis, for the treatment of various medical indications. The novel formulations are based on oral and transbuccal delivery technologies developed by Professors Abraham Domb and Amnon Hoffman of the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Drug Research.

The Cannabis Movement in Saint Lucia is urging the government to follow the footsteps of Jamaica and decriminalize marijuana. Members say it would pave the way for a legal marijuana industry.

Andre de Caires, the head of the Cannabis Movement, has been a champion of marijuana tourism and decriminalization. He says Jamaica is heading down the right path by approving a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis and believes Saint Lucia should do the same.

Cannabis can ease chronic pain more effectively than conventional medicines, according to a new study likely to flame the debate on the medical use of marijuana.

Researchers from the Australian National Drug and Alcohol centre found that patients with chronic pain who used the drug said it eased their symptoms better opioid medications, which are highly addictive and can cause accidental overdoses. 

The study analysed 1,500 patients, aged in their late 40s and early 50s, who suffered from conditions including back pain, migraines and arthritis, and were being prescribed with heavy-duty opioid medications, such as morphine and oxycodone. 

The Internal Revenue Service expects hooligans of the black market drug trade to pay taxes, but not even the most clever accountant will be able to deduct medical marijuana on their clients' federal tax returns this year.

Despite the sweet leaf being legal for medicinal purposes in almost half of the United States, the federal government refuses to consider cannabis a medical expense because it remains a Schedule I controlled substance. “You cannot include in medical expenses amounts you pay for illegal operations, treatments, or controlled substances whether rendered or prescribed by licensed or unlicensed practitioners,” according to Publication 502.

AURORA, COLORADO – During this spring, Dr. Kelly Knupp, a pediatric epilepsy specialist, and her colleagues will be conducting a three-year, $500,000 observational study at Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which your body can’t tell the difference between viruses, germs and bacteria and your body’s own healthy tissue. This leads to your immune system creating antibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue, leading to inflammation, pain and damage to body parts. Lupus is characterized by flares, where symptoms worsen, and remissions, when symptoms improve. Unlike HIV or AIDS, where the immune system is underactive, the immune system is overactive in lupus.

As Colorado celebrated a year of cannabis legalisation, Founders Fund, a venture-capital firm with $2 billion in assets that backed Facebook, has announced an investment in Privateer Holdings, a marijuana outfit behind names such as Leafly and [Bob] Marley Natural. Four states and Washington, DC, have now legalised recreational weed. A further 21 allow medical consumption under differing restrictions. Legal recreational and medical sales amounted to $2.6 billion last year, most of them in California and Colorado. That is just 6% of the estimated $40 billion still going to criminals (over $200 billion a year is spent on tobacco and alcohol). Cannabis venture capital was a tiny $104m in 2014 and opportunities remain limited because of federal restrictions.