Medical Marijuana

Today, the House appropriations committee for the first time heard and passed language, known as the Joyce amendment, to restrict funding for the Department of Justice to prosecute state-legal medical marijuana programs.

Patients enrolled in New York state’s medical cannabis program reduce their use of opioids and spend less money on prescription medications, according to data published online in the journal Mental Health Clinician. “After three months treatment, medical cannabis improved [subjects’] quality of life, reduced pain and opioid use, and lead to cost savings,” authors concluded.

The University of Utah Health and the University of California San Diego recently announced separate plans to begin new phases of research on medical marijuana. In Utah, the study will focus on the individual effects of cannabinoids on brain processes, while UC San Diego researchers will probe possible treatments for autism with marijuana. Both projects … Continue reading Universities in California and Utah Receive Funding to Pursue New Medical Marijuana Research

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Monday is a crucial deadline for marijuana policy reform bills in Maryland. HB 1264, which would let Marylanders vote on regulating marijuana for adults, needs to move out of the House Judiciary Committee by then to stay alive this year. HB 602, a bill that would protect the rights of Maryland’s medical cannabis patients, must … Continue reading Deadline Looming for Maryland Cannabis Bills

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Last Friday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill into law expanding access for medical marijuana in Virginia. The law allows for practitioners to recommend CBD or THC-A oil for any condition they think would be beneficial to patients. Previously, only those suffering from intractable epilepsy could qualify for CBD or THC-A oil. Additionally, the law … Continue reading Virginia Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill

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On July 25, Representatives Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD-01), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19) introduced H.R. 3391 (the Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2017). The Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2017 amends the Controlled Substances...

During the regular legislative session, more than half of the Texas House, including three out of four physicians, signed onto a bill that would have made the Compassionate Use Program more inclusive. They answered the cries of patients and...

“The policy championed by Representatives Blumenauer and Rohrabacher that prevents the Department of Justice from interfering in the ability of states to implement legal medical marijuana laws (previously known as “Rohrabacher-Farr”) has never been included in the base Commerce,...

In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed the Compassionate Use Program, allowing those with intractable epilepsy to access medical cannabis to treat their seizures.  Because of cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug under Federal law, it cannot be “prescribed.” It...

In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed the Compassionate Use Program, allowing those with intractable epilepsy to access medical cannabis to treat their seizures.  Because of cannabis’ status as a Schedule I drug under Federal law, it cannot be “prescribed.” It...