Tennessee braces for potential change in cannabis scheduling

State cannabis agencies sued by medical marijuana providers

Medical marijuana regulations are designed to keep products out of children’s hands 

 Many breast cancer patients are using marijuana and not telling their doctors

 Medical marijuana customers may be older than you think

Common Questions on Medical Marijuana

 Long-time Pulaski nurse practitioner starts medical cannabis telehealth service

‘This has been a disaster’: How did Missouri screw up medical marijuana licenses?

Legal marijuana is saving lives in Colorado, study finds: VIDEO

Marijuana legalization in Colorado led to a “reversal” of opiate overdose deaths in that state, according to new research published in the American Journal of Public Health.

“After Colorado’s legalization of recreational cannabis sale and use, opioid-related deaths decreased more than 6% in the following 2 years,” write authors Melvin D. Livingston, Tracey E. Barnett, Chris Delcher and Alexander C. Wagenaar.

The authors stress that their results are preliminary, given that their study encompasses only two years of data after the state's first recreational marijuana shops opened in 2014.

While numerous studies have shown an association between medical marijuana legalization and opioid overdose deaths, this report is one of the first to look at the impact of recreational marijuana laws on opioid deaths.

Marijuana is often highly effective at treating the same types of chronic pain that patients are often prescribed opiates for. Given the choice between marijuana and opiates, many patients appear to be opting for the former.

From a public health standpoint, this is a positive development, considering that relative to opiates, marijuana carries essentially zero risk of fatal overdose.

Now, the study in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that similar findings hold true for recreational marijuana legalization. The authors examined trends in monthly opiate overdose fatalities in Colorado before and after the state's recreational marijuana market opened in 2014. They attempted to isolate the effect of recreational, rather than medical, marijuana by comparing Colorado to Nevada, which allowed medical but not recreational marijuana during that period.

They also attempted to correct for a change in Colorado's prescription-drug-monitoring program that happened during the study period. That change required all opioid prescribers to register with, but not necessarily use, the program in 2014.

Overall, after controlling for both medical marijuana and the prescription-drug-monitoring change, the study found that after Colorado implemented its recreational marijuana law, opioid deaths fell by 6.5 percent in the following two years.

The authors say policymakers will want to keep a close eye on the numbers in the coming years to see whether the trend continues. They'd also like to see whether their results are replicated in other states that recently approved recreational marijuana, such as Washington and Oregon.

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Don't let Sessions turn back the clock on medical marijuana: VIDEO

Image Source: 420MAGAZINE

Sessions warned four governors in letters released last week that he had “serious concerns” about the effects of legalization and suggested the states’ drug detente with the Justice Department was at risk.

How ironic is it that conservatives who routinely criticize the federal government’s allegedly heavy-handed intrusions into state and local affairs seem to have no problem with such interventions when the overreach happens to advance policies dear to their own hearts?

This Texan’s daughter needed medical marijuana, so he moved to Colorado: VIDEO

Listen to Emmanuel Garza explain why he wanted House Bill 2107 — which would've expanded the use of medical marijuana — to pass. 

Emmanuel Garza moved from Texas to Colorado so his baby daughter could get the medical marijuana treatment she needed. Legislation to legalize the same treatment in Texas failed to pass during the regular legislative session. 

Madelynn Garza had her first seizure at three months old.

She was born with Aicardi Syndrome, a disease affecting nearly 4,000 people worldwide that caused her infantile spasms and made her legally blind. Now that Madelynn is almost two, her parents say they’re not sure whether she’ll ever walk or speak, or how long she'll live.

City Council Told Getting Medical Marijuana Will Not Be Simple: VIDEO

With all the hype over medical marijuana, you’d think it’d be easy for the medically eligible to get.

First medical marijuana store in Jacksonville opens: VIDEO

Interior of Trulieve store that opened July 12, first medical marijuana storefront in Jacksonville (PHOTO: First Coast News)

The first medical marijuana store in the region has opened its doors to the public on Wednesday on Beach Boulevard.

State keeps medical marijuana grow applications secret: VIDEO

Who applied to grow medical marijuana in Ohio? The state isn't saying.

After legalizing medical marijuana last year, the state is setting up a massive program to oversee the businesses who grow and sell marijuana as well as doctors who recommend it to patients.

Lawmakers sign-off on medical marijuana for PTSD: VIDEO

New York State lawmakers have signed off on a bill to add post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana treatment.

The legislation passed 50-13 in the Senate, weeks after it passed in the Assembly. It now goes to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who can sign the bill into law or veto it.

John Morgan ‘prepared to invest $100M’ in medical marijuana: VIDEO

John Morgan

John Morgan spent nearly $7 million pushing two statewide ballot initiatives to expand medical marijuana throughout the state of Florida.

Jeff Sessions’s war on drugs has medical marijuana advocates worried: VIDEO

Medical marijuana advocates are concerned the Trump industry could crackdown on the industry. (Richard Vogel/Associated Press)

By John Wagner and Matt Zapotosky

A little-noticed document issued by President Trump has put advocates of medical marijuana on edge, raising questions about the long-term security of programs authorized in 29 states and the District that have broad public backing.

After ‘Unheard-Of Momentum,’ Medical Marijuana Bill Declared Dead by Authors

Representative Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville (left), and Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs on the House floor.  SAM DEGRAVE

After gaining the support of most House members last week, a bill legalizing medical marijuana was declared dead Tuesday night by its authors — a Republican and a Democrat who vowed to continue working on the issue.

Marijuana And Memory: Cannabis Could Help Elderly, Alzheimer's Patients: VIDEO

Marijuana: John Oliver Explains Why Conflicting Drug Laws Pose Serious Problems

Among the arguments for not legalizing marijuana is fear of the impact it has on the brain. But research at the University of Bonn in Germany indicates it may actually to good for memory, especially on the elderly, reversing brain aging and restoring learning ability.

Department of health warns Florida residents about medical marijuana scam: VIDEO

A warning from Florida's Dept. of Health. A weed scam is happening in the state as medical marijuana legislation is working its way through Tallahassee.