The Great Pot Monopoly Mystery

Some very powerful people are trying to corner the market on legal weed and turn their company into the Monsanto of marijuana. Who are they? And can they be stopped?

The search for the hidden forces that might soon control the marijuana industry began, as many wild journeys do, in Las Vegas. It was last November, and I was party-hopping at the biggest weed-business gathering of the year, a week of overlapping conferences and decadent soirees. I was a few blocks off the Strip, celebrating a new line of bongs and pipes in a penthouse with chandeliers and dark-wood furniture, when I happened to meet a faunlike 40-something man named after a character from The Jungle Book: Mowgli Holmes.

White House anti-drug office asks Mass. for medical marijuana data

An arm of the White House’s antidrug office has asked Massachusetts and several other states where medical marijuana is legal to turn over information about registered patients, triggering a debate over privacy rights and whether state officials should cooperate with a federal administration that appears hostile to the drug.

Medical marijuana bill on its way to Indiana legislature — and a Republican is behind it

A Republican lawmaker plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming legislative session that would legalize medical marijuana.

First medical marijuana dispensary opening in Hawaii

This undated photo provided by Maui Grown Therapies shows medicinal cannabis grown in the dispensary's production centers in Upcountry Maui, Hawaii. Dispensary sales of medical marijuana in Hawaii are beginning after patients waited 17 years for a legal way to purchase the drug. Maui Grown Therapies was the first dispensary in the state to sell medical marijuana to patients. (Maui Grown Therapies via AP)

Maui Grown Therapies received approval from the Department of Health to begin selling medical cannabis Tuesday.

The Biology of Cannabis vs. Opioids for Pain Relief

(GeorgeManga/iStock)

Cannabis and opioids are both known for their analgesic, pain-relieving effects. However, opioids are highly addictive—between 1999 and 2014, sales of prescription opioids in the United States quadrupled, with staggering increases in overdoses. In the healthcare system, 49% of patients seeking treatment for pain leave with a prescription. Because the risk of addiction and overdose associated with opioids is so great, finding a drug substitute with less abuse potential is critical.

HIPAA-Compliant Online Chats For Medical Marijuana Come to New York -- Deliveries Too

Legal Medical Marijuana Products From NY's Columbia Care

It can be hard for medical marijuana patients to get to a dispensary if for example they are homebound, elderly or suffer from seizures and can’t drive. A patchwork of delivery services has been expanding around the country, based on each state, county or city’s laws.

How Medical Marijuana Could Help John McCain With Glioblastoma

Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, doctors said Wednesday evening.
Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons

Should U.S. Senator John McCain get an Arizona medical-marijuana card, now that he's been diagnosed with glioblastoma?


He qualifies for the right to possess and use cannabis under Arizona law, and cannabis is well-known for its effectiveness in helping patients cope with chemotherapy.

You Can’t Fire Cannabis Patients Just for Using Cannabis, Massachusetts High Court Rules

In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Monday said that employees can’t be fired simply for using medical cannabis. Such terminations, the court said, violate state antidiscrimination rules.

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.

Psychiatrists Say Cannabis Medicine Has Psychedelic Properties

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Cannabis is currently not classified or typically thought of as a psychedelic, but some mental health professionals say they would like to change that. It has been suggested that psychedelics – such as mushrooms – could also treat depression, PTSD, alcoholism, and so on. And psychiatrists also now believe that cannabis has some psychedelic properties that could be beneficial in treating various mental disorders. While this is certainly not news to anyone privy to the vast benefits of cannabis medicine, the study put out by these mental health professionals raises some interesting points.

Jon Huntsman Sr., four-time cancer survivor, says he’d ‘love to’ try medical marijuana

(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) Huntsman Cancer Institute founder Jon M. Huntsman Sr. and his wife, Karen Huntsman, celebrate the opening of the Primary Children's and Families' Cancer Research Center in June. Huntsman, a cancer survivor, on Thursday endorsed legalizing medical uses of marijuana.

Utah philanthropist and cancer survivor says cannabis is much less destructive than opioid-based painkillers.

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.

Study Finds Cannabis is Effective for Treating Tourette’s Patients

In many states where medical marijuana is legal, one of the many listed qualifying conditions is Tourette Syndrome. The illness is a neurological disorder that causes tics, OCD, and ADD-like tendencies among other issues. While there is no cure for Tourette’s, there are some therapies that prove effective in minimizing symptoms – and one of the most effective treatments with the fewest side effects appears to be medical marijuana.

Puerto Rico Governor Signs Medicinal Marijuana Bill

Puerto Rico became the latest corner of US to adopt a medical marijuana law, with the territory’s governor on Sunday signing a bill that legalizes and regulates the plant for medical use.

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy to provide training for medical marijuana

Image Source: THEDAILYRECORD

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy will begin offering training to prepare prospective workers for the medical marijuana industry.

Wow! 92% of Patients Prefer Medical Marijuana to Opioids, New Survey Shows

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Favorability toward medical weed is growing, but don't expect the federal government to change its stance anytime soon.

Sean Williams (TMFUltraLong) Jul 8, 2017 at 8:27AM
The marijuana industry has been growing at a lightning-fast pace for years now, so it's not one bit surprising to see marijuana stock investors flocking to the "green rush."

Lawsuit alleges Florida's new medical marijuana law violates constitution, and voters' intent

In this January 2016 file photo, samples of cannabis are tested for purity inside Modern Health Concepts, a South Florida dispensary for medical marijuana that is producing medicine inside its Redland plant. CARL JUSTE Miami Herald

Arguing that Florida legislators violated voters’ intent when they prohibited smoking for the medical use of marijuana, the author of the state's medical marijuana amendment sued the state on Thursday to throw out the implementing law.

Is Colorado Trying to Criminalize Medical Marijuana Caregivers?

Rick Wainwright, whose acquittal in a 2009 criminal case helped cement the concept that Colorado's six-plant threshold for medical marijuana patients can be expanded, is suing Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and State Attorney General Cynthia Coffman over a new law that tries to limit large home grows under the theory that they may be part of the illegal gray and black markets for cannabis. Wainwright sees the legislation as a stealth effort to target and criminalize law-abiding MMJ caregivers like him.

Expanded medical marijuana bill becomes law

In a special legislative session June 23, Gov. Rick Scott approved a bill that effectively puts into action a state constitutional amendment approving medical marijuana passed by voters in 2016. The measure expands the list of debilitating conditions that could make patients eligible to receive marijuana as a medical treatment. It also increases the number of approved marijuana dispensaries across the state from seven to 17.

Political Risk Increases For Medical Marijuana

Image Source: PEASHEALTH

Summary

• The Trump administration is likely to increase pressure on all cannabis businesses.
• GW Pharma remains the best play.
• Other cannabis companies represent poor risk/reward.

The policies of the Trump Administration pose a growing risk to all companies involved in the cannabis sphere. Attorney General Sessions is an implacable foe of all things cannabis and can make life difficult in the legal, government approval and finance areas. GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) is furthest down the line in terms of approval and product promise. It still represents the best play for those willing to accept some risk. Recreational cannabis remains an extremely high risk area. This is both in terms of government policy and in terms of the doubtful corporate governance of the players in the market.

Data Show The Typical Medical Marijuana Consumer Is Upscale, Insured And Physician-Diagnosed

With cannabis legalization across multiple states in the U.S. and other countries around the world, there’s been an explosion of research firms looking into the industry. ArcView Market Research became famous for its market-size predictions, Viridian Capital Advisors acquired notoriety for its Cannabis Deal Tracker and Cannabis Stock Index, and New Frontier Data gained a reputation for its extensive (collaborative) reports.

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.

D.C. poised to give minorities preference for entering medical marijuana industry

D.C. Council member Robert C. White Jr. (D-At Large), at his swearing-in ceremony, sponsored legislation to give local minority-owned companies a preference when applying for licenses to operate medical marijuana businesses. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

By Fenit Nirappil June 30

Members of the D.C. Council advanced legislation to give local minority-owned companies a preference when applying for licenses to operate medical marijuana businesses.

Medical Marijuana Regulations Bill Signed by Florida Governor, Yet Problems Remain

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Last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott finally signed a bill that puts regulations in place for Amendment 2, the measure voters in the state approved last November; a measure that greatly expanded the state’s small medical marijuana program.

Marijuana Could Help Treat Alzheimer's: Here's How It Would Work

You've probably heard this before.

As early as 2008, several reports, including one published in Molecular Pharmaceutics, began proposing various therapeutic pathways by which cannabinoids could treat Alzheimer’s Disease patients, but none were proven.