A little over a year ago, the Department of Justice released the infamous “Wilkinson Memo” containing DOJ policy guidance to U.S. District Attorneys on Marijuana in Indian Country.

Chaos ensued.

Media and industry began shouting “Marijuana is legal in Indian Country!” from the rooftops. Tribal leaders were swarmed by tribal members demanding that marijuana be immediately legalized. State and local jurisdictions were worried about the impact of legalization on their jurisdictions. Some tribes immediately announced their intent to open large marijuana operations; other tribes issued strong statements against legalization, and lawyers all started scratching our heads.

OLEAN — New York state’s Medical Marijuana Program started quietly on Jan. 7.

It’s not clear whether any Cattaraugus County physicians have yet registered with the program, or whether any county residents have been certified elsewhere to participate in the medical marijuana program.

“It’s a hot topic,” said Dr. Kevin Watkins, Cattaraugus County public health director.

Regulated by the state Department of Health, “medical marijuana is another weapon in the arsenal for pain relief,” Watkins said. “We are just going to continue to monitor it.”

New York, he said, “is the 23rd state in the country to allow medical marijuana for patients seeking some sort of pain relief. It is being done in a very conservative way.”

Big Pharma’s attempts to synthesise cannabis into an artificial pill form are not only failing, but killing people in the process. 

Medical research shows that our bodies are able to synthesise endocannabinoids naturally. Endocannabinoids are the chemical compounds that activate the same receptors as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active component of marijuana. 

Big Pharma have attempted to patent this natural herb via a chemical alternative pill in order to cash in on the market. 

Puerto Rico is now among the many states in the Latin America which have adopted the use of marijuana in medicine.

According to Puerto Rico's Public Affairs Secretary Jesus Manuel Ortiz, as per Fox News Latino, the whole system is slated to be implemented by the end of this year. The country's health department announced Thursday that it will be implementing a "seed-to-sale inventory tracking system."

This Spring, the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine will be launching what is believed to be a first: A college-level course dedicated entirely to medical cannabis.

Despite the drug being illegal to possess and/or distribute, and being notoriously difficult to research due to strict Federal scheduling, two of the University’s professors are determined to make medical cannabis a part of the curriculum. Karen Lounsbury, PhD, and Wolfgang Dustmann, PhD, hope to strip away the stigma surrounding cannabis in order to teach students the facts, without the fear.

A months-long shortage of medical marijuana in the District has been eased in recent weeks by new growers moving into the city and a change in the law that doubled the number of plants producers can cultivate, according to buyers and suppliers.

The boost in supply has ended rationing and cut the price of cannabis for the 3,500 city residents legally allowed to buy it. During the shortage, some patients said they were forced buy marijuana from street users or turn to ad hoc networks of unsanctioned growers willing to provide it at low or no cost.

Earlier this week Civilised shared a short piece on Justin Trudeau, warmly welcoming him to the cannabis community as he begins his premiership.

Civilised is an online journal that represents ‘the millions of motivated, productive adults who choose to enjoy cannabis recreationally’ across the USA, and, for Civilised, the emergence of Trudeau appears akin to that of a long awaited saviour, modernising and maturing the face of cannabis advocacy.

It was 2012, and Douglas Leighton wanted to pour some money into marijuana.

Leighton, the co-founder of a Boston-based hedge fund called Dutchess Capital, had done his homework. He saw public opinion shifting in favor of cannabis. Laws had already begun to follow, including the legalization of medical marijuana in Massachusetts.

And as the legal landscape changed, a $50 billion black market was about to emerge into the sunlight—marking a major investment opportunity.

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Plus, he admitted, he just enjoyed smoking pot.

“It’s what got me interested in it, definitely,” Leighton said.

As snow began to fall outside, Deb Button snuggled up on her couch, fired up a joint and spoke of the nature of Christ.

"Even if Jesus didn't smoke weed, he'd still be a stoner," she said, exhaling a white cloud.

Her kitten sniffed the air curiously.

"Jesus was peaceful and loving. He went from house to house and was always accepted," she explained. "Only a stoner could do that."

For years, these nuns have been attempting to make the cannabis market ‘a healing industry instead of a stoner industry’, and who can blame them?

The Sisters of the Valley have been fighting back against the Merced city bosses in California, to continue running their modest garage weed farm and make marijuana products to sell on their Etsy store.

Officials recently decided to ban medicinal weed and it’s not gone down well with these Sisters. Since the ruling last week, they’ve started a petition to protect weed rights in California’s central valley, and their thriving business of course.