U.S. News Updates

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Having spent the past four months showing he’s capable of keeping the effects of Crohn’s disease in check, Bills offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson faces yet another hurdle in attempting to resume his career.

Henderson is appealing the NFL’s four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy after testing positive for marijuana, a person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the suspension is being appealed and the NFL has not announced its ruling.

A Clarence cigarette manufacturer says it has expanded its cannabis research program.

The 22nd Century Group said its wholly owned subsidiary, Botanical Genetics, has launched a number of new research projects to develop proprietary cannabis strains that have medical and agricultural uses.

Company officials estimate the markets for medical marijuana and industrial hemp – which they view as an ideal agricultural crop – could be worth up to $10 billion, and they said the company wants to be a leader in cannabis biotechnology.

“It’s amazing what you can do with this one plant,” said Paul Rushton, 22nd Century’s vice president for biotechnology.

Patients can even get it delivered to their homes.

New York state is about to expand its medical marijuana program to help better meet patient need and improve accessibility.

The state’s new policies were recommended by the Department of Health and will include things like home delivery and doubling the number of companies that can provide the substance. The New York Times reports that the policy changes are expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Tucked in the rolling hills of Orange County, New York, inside a row of anonymous buildings and behind doors bristling with security, is an operation few have ever seen.

Welcome to Pharmacann, one of five companies licensed by the State of New York to manufacture and distribute medical marijuana. In giant greenhouses covering the equivalent of three football fields are fields of green in every sense.

“The term factory is a little bit of an understatement, because these are state of the art manufacturing facilities,” said Jeremy Unruh.

Unruh is a former prosecutor and the general counsel for Pharmacann. He says what you see in these facilities is an industry that’s taking root.

Over 30 people were hospitalized in New York City last month after smoking some fake marijuana that had them acting more like “zombies.” In fact, an eyewitness described the incident as “a scene out of ‘The Walking Dead.’”

They had overdosed on what is called synthetic marijuana, which is known to cause users to act erratically, experience respiratory problems and even collapse on the street.

High Society: Pardons for nonviolent marijuana offenders in states where weed is legal are becoming part of the debate as more states consider legalizing cannabis.  

Twenty years ago, Rico Garcia was 21 when he got caught up in a marijuana sting in Colorado with a friend who wanted to buy some weed. The seller turned out to be a police informant, and Garcia and his friend were arrested.

“The police came and arrested us and said we were selling weed,” says Garcia, now a 41-year-old marijuana advocate who runs Cannabis Alliance for Regulation and Education. “My friend said it was his, but … under Colorado law at the time, 8 ounces was possession with intent and I got a felony.”

New York is considering expanding its 9-month-old medical marijuana program by adding more growers and allowing home delivery.

The state Health Department has issued a report recommending ways the program can be improved. Some of those recommendations include:

The transparency of New York’s Medical Marijuana Program has been questioned by many New Yorkers, but on Aug. 19, 2016, the New York State Depart of Health released a two-year report on the state’s Medical Medical Use of Marijuana Under the Compassionate Care Act, as confirmed by a staff member with the NYS Medical Marijuana Program.

On June 15, 2016, the report’s data was obtained from the NYSDOH’s Medical Marijuana Data Management System and the Prescription Monitoring Program Registry.

Marijuana's official designation as a Schedule 1 drug — something with "no accepted medical use" — means it is pretty tough to study.

That can be frustrating to scientists who, regardless of their position on its legal status, almost uniformly agree that more rigorous scientific analyses of the drug are desperately needed.

Marijuana isn't as simple as it seems. It's a plant made up of hundreds of different compounds — each of which have a variety of potential effects ranging from pain relief to reducing blood pressure. Some of them play no role in getting you high. 

As a result, many experts say, barring marijuana research with a sweeping, all-inclusive ban simply doesn't make sense.