Cannabis use is usually thought to impair our ability to pay attention or organize efficiently (and a lot of scientific research backs up that assumption to some extent). But there are also plenty of people who say smoking up helps them focus and get things done, writes Calvin Hughes.

Addiction psychiatrist Larissa Mooney says she hears this a lot.

Patients with intractable migraines and two other afflictions have been recommended for inclusion in the state’s five-year-old medical marijuana program.

Chilli and cannabis both produce a substance that reacted with the immune system of mice to reduce inflammation in the gut.

WHAT do chilli spice and cannabis have in common?

On the face of it, very little. But, scientists hope both could help develop new treatments for type 1 diabetes and the gut disease colitis.

When eaten, both interact with the same receptor in our stomachs, new findings suggest.

And the result is they help calm the gut, scientists at the University of Connecticut found.

Mice fed both chilli peppers and the class B drug showed less inflammation in their guts. And, the researchers even found they were able to reverse type 1 diabetes in some mice, by feeding them the fiery pepper.

Supporters of legalizing marijuana were put on the defensive Wednesday by almost two hours of testimony offered by Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and director of neuropsychiatry at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

D’Souza told the legislature’s Judiciary Committee that marijuana is addictive and research has shown that about 10 percent of people who try marijuana will become addicted.

Wednesday's big legislative hearing on legalizing pot in Connecticut may have more to do with the state's huge money problems than with the issues surrounding marijuana use.

The bill to legalize recreational cannabis calls for a total state tax on pot sales of 30 percent, and the plan's supporters say that could bring in $100 million a year to help solve projected billion-dollar deficits.

Connecticut's continuing fiscal woes, coupled with a new law that fully takes effect next year in neighboring Massachusetts, have prompted state lawmakers to take their most serious look yet at possibly legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults.

Supporters of legalizing pot in Connecticut argued Tuesday that the time has come to control and tax marijuana in the same way alcohol is regulated, warning that pot prohibition has failed.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers said at a morning news conference that legalization of recreational cannabis would end the illegal market in pot, halt the unnecessary arrest of thousands of people for possession, bring in tens of millions of dollars in new tax revenue and create new jobs.

But opponents of legalization staged their own competing news conference in advance of the major legislative hearing today on pro-pot bills.

eBottles.com a leading online supplier of glass and plastic containers announced today that it has been granted design patent D781151 by the US Patent and Trademark Office for their line of cosmetic thick wall glass jars with symmetric child resistant closures.

In remarks during a recent announcement to employees and other stakeholders, Robert Lerman, President of eBottles.com declared that the company had been issued the design patent for their unique design which pairs child resistant closures with cosmetic thick wall glass jars.

Medical marijuana has a long history of being denied coverage by insurance companies. Up to now most insurance companies refuse to cover cannabinoid treatments, typically citing federal regulations as the main reason to decline medical marijuana coverage. This is especially true in the United States where cannabis is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act with “no perceived medicinal value”.

In New Mexico, an employee hurt on the job was denied medical marijuana coverage under his worker’s compensation insurance and his suit to force the coverage failed. Beside the ruling in New Mexico, lower courts in Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut have given similar verdicts to workplace insurers.

As it stands right now, there are 8 states that have voted to legalize marijuana, along with America’s capital. Every single one of the those states has legalized marijuana via a citizen initiative. For those that are not familiar with initiatives, in some states citizens can gather enough signatures to put marijuana legalization on the ballot. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Washington D.C., California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts – all of them legalized marijuana via that process.