The Legislature has taken steps to expand the availability of medical marijuana to Minnesota hospitals when it becomes legal in July.

When state lawmakers approved the original law authorizing health care providers to dispense the drug, they didn't include hospitals where terminally ill patients could end up.

That left hospitals wondering what they would do for patients who use medical marijuana, and whether they could allow it.

The Legislature has added hospitals to the list of facilities that can control, dispense and manage the use of cannabis inside their systems, said Manny Munson-Regala, an assistant state health commissioner. Gov. Mark Dayton signed off on the change, he said.

On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, Rhode Island’s legislature held a hearing for House Bill 6177, a bill proposing to legalize the growth and sale of hemp within the state. This hearing was scheduled to clear up any misconceptions regarding industrial hemp.

Hemp History

I think that the groundbreaking approach by an anti-legalization group calling for a regulatory way to study medical marijuana under academic supervision is the right way to evaluate the potential use of this highly debated drug. 

The group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, appears to be the first of its kind to make moves that would hopefully allow for more efficient research of medical marijuana and its component cannabidiol (CBD).

If you are at all interested in cannabis as a growing industry you are already aware that while the US Federal Government labels marijuana a schedule 1 drug with no medicinal benefits, they also hold a patent titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” which was awarded in 2003. And while possession of the flower remains a serious criminal offence, President Obama and the US Attorney General have decided to allow individual States to determine their own set of rules within their borders.

There are currently an estimated 22 Veterans committing suicide every day. This is an oft-touted statistic, but it can never be repeated enough. Veterans are returning to the states finding the battles waiting for them here are no less dangerous than the battles they fought in over there. There are new enemies here – post-traumatic stress, the lifelong effects of traumatic brain injury, and a government that will charge them as felons for using a medicine that works for them. This is absolutely unacceptable.

Louisiana may be about to reform its harsh marijuana laws, but not Kansas; a Nebraska CBD cannabis oil bill dies, a Michigan legalization initiative goes back to the drawing board, the Germans and the Israelis grapple with marijuana policy, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Marijuana policy is changing the way Congress thinks and acts. Like most new areas of policy—or policies new to Congress—it is not happening through a ground-breaking, fast moving, all-encompassing policy shift. Instead, through small steps—small victories for marijuana supporters—Congress is showing signs of change, at least in regard to medical marijuana, that depart dramatically with the institution’s historical support for the war on drugs.

The marijuana industry has a pesticide problem.

Many commercial cannabis growers use chemicals to control bugs and mold. But because of the plant’s unresolved legal status, Colorado regulators are having a tough time making sure pot buyers don’t ingest those pesticides. The parts of the federal government that regulate agricultural pesticide use want nothing to do with legalized marijuana.

“In the absence of any direction, the subject of pesticide use on the crop has just devolved to just whatever people think is working or whatever they think is appropriate,” says Colorado State University entomologist Whitney Cranshaw.

Less than a year ago, Canary, a mobile marketplace startup, was referred to as the “Uber for marijuana.” The company was founded to cater to medical marijuana patients who were not always in close proximity to a dispensary, or who had trouble getting around due to illness. Canary was also valuable to dispensaries, which benefitted from reaching more customers.

CannaVest Corp. (OTCQB: CANV), a leading manufacturer and distributor of hemp, cannabis derivative, and Cannabidiol (CBD) based products, today announced that it has closed a $6,500,000 financing with an institutional investor, which will provide CannaVest with additional working capital as it continues to rapidly expand its customer base and sales channel. As more particularly set forth in CannaVest's Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 2015, the financing is structured in tranches, where CannaVest will receive four tranches of $500,000 each, and a final two tranches of $2.25 million upon the effectiveness of its registration statement to be filed with the SEC seeking to register the shares issuable under the financing.