Hawaii's Department of Health has made interim administrative rules for the state's medical cannabis dispensary program available. The state already has a medical cannabis program, but no dispensaries. This means patients must grow their own plants and prepare their own medications;  or have a registered caregiver do so for them....

The U.S. medical cannabis industry is in the midst of somewhat of a cash crisis - but it's not the type usually experienced by businesses. A cash flow crisis is one often associated with a lack of easily accessible funds. For the cannabis industry in the U.S., it can be...

With discussion concerning medical cannabis for therapeutic use in children  increasing; the Canadian Paediatric Society has just released its position statement on the topic - and it's rather cautious. The statement appears to lean heavily toward application of what's known as the "Precautionary Principle"; which is applied to scenarios with...

Two bills sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora to enable the cultivation of industrial hemp in New Jersey advanced on Friday. The first bill deals with issues surrounding the cultivating, harvesting, processing, distribution and trade aspects of industrial hemp within the state. The second bill establishes the framework for industrial hemp...

The state governments of New South Wales and Tasmania in Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to collaboration on clinical trials, research and cultivation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes. Announced earlier today, the partnership will see the two states team up on exploring the potential...

Further evidence has emerged that cannabidiol (CBD),  a compound in cannabis, can be effective in treating epilepsy in children. The evidence was presented at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting early this week. Epidiolex, based on CBD, was administered in addition to the normal regime of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) taken by...

The state government of Victoria in Australia has introduced legislation into Parliament today that, once passed, will enable legal access to medicinal cannabis in exceptional circumstances. The Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2015 will also provide the necessary framework to allow the beginning of cultivation and manufacturing of medical marijuana...

Minnesota's Commissioner of Health has announced he has added intractable pain as a qualifying condition for state's medical cannabis program.  While Commissioner Dr. Ed Ehlinger said firm evidence is "scarce" of medicinal marijuana's benefit in relieving intractable pain, it became clear that the "right and compassionate" choice was to add...

It seems another potential use for medicinal cannabis is to assist opioid users in kicking their habit. Earlier this year, researchers at Columbia University assessed the usefulness of dronabinol in opioid withdrawal. Dronabinol is a pharmaceutical formulation of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Dronabinol is commonly used to treat...

The United States Postal Service has sent out a memo to newspaper publishers in a US state stating they must not mail any publications containing advertisements for marijuana - including medical cannabis. Even if the medicinal cannabis comes from a licensed dispensary; the ban still applies. According to the memo: "If...