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TEL AVIV – An Israeli hospital will begin testing COVID-19 patients with medicinal cannabis, which is known to have anti-viral properties, as part of a new experimental treatment. Researchers are investigating cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis also known as CBD, can slow down the spread of the virus and stop moderate patients from turning critical. Dozens of COVID-19 patients in moderate condition at Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv are expected to be treated. Barak Cohen, a senior anesthesiologist who is in charge of managing the hospital’s coronavirus response, stressed the treatment would alleviate symptoms by using “a component...

Swiping a security a card against a scanner, a worker in medical scrubs and a hair net cracks open a door emblazoned with warning signs -- and bright white light comes flooding out. A step through the boot wash and he's inside one of 27 austere, clinical rooms at largest medical marijuana grow facility in Michigan. He's there to check on young marijuana plants, recently transplanted, that are destined for medical marijuana patients. Every movement of his -- and of the 80 other employees at the $13 million, 50,000-square-foot Green Peak Industries headquarters -- is caught on camera. The high...

A 2018 survey of employers across the U.S. found that 5% are considering removing marijuana from their workplace drug testing panel in the next 12 months[1]. Perhaps more frightening is the number of employers who are on the fence about the removal of marijuana from their panels – a shocking 23% of employers from the same survey. At first glance, removing marijuana from the panel may seem like a good idea – but is it really? Aren’t There Pros to Removing Marijuana From my Testing Panel? Undoubtedly, an employer could identify pros in deciding to stop testing for marijuana in...

There is a strange dichotomy taking place in society today. On the one hand, laws against marijuana are being eliminated. People who abuse pot are now able to feed their addiction with an overly generous supply of the drug. For example, in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal, users can purchase up to 2.5 ounces every two weeks. This is enough to be stoned every day. Once you have a prescription, you can refill it for an entire year without going back to renew the prescription. It’s easy to get a prescription in most states that have legalized medical marijuana,...

On January 1, 2014, Colorado legalized the medical and recreational use of Marijuana. They claimed that it would add millions of dollars to the state’s revenue via state taxes which includes a 2.9% sales tax, 10% special sales tax and 15% excise tax, meaning the state would collect $27.90 for every $100 of recreational marijuana sold in the Rocky Mountain state. In April 2014, 19 year old foreign exchange student Levy Thamba plunged off a hotel balcony and died after eating legally purchased marijuana laced cookies. After eating just one cookie, Thamba became agitated and ran out onto the balcony...

The debate over marijuana legalization is just one of the many ways the political landscape is changing as the US comes to terms with drug and criminal justice policies that many experts and Americans consider to have failed at a great cost to the nation’s liberty and finances. The war on marijuana in particular has cost the US billions of dollars over decades, led to a black market for pot that criminal organizations use to fund violent operations, and contributed to the explosive growth of America’s incarcerated population, which is now the largest in the world. And despite those costs,...

Smoking cannabis ages the brain by an average of 2.8 years, new research suggests. This is compared to four years in schizophrenia patients, according to the largest study of its kind. Brain ageing is defined as reduced blood flow through the organ. Excessive alcohol also ages the organ by 0.6 years, the research adds. Lead author Dr Daniel Amen, founder of Amen Clinics, said: 'The cannabis abuse finding was especially important, as our culture is starting to see marijuana as an innocuous substance. This study should give us pause about it.' Reduced brain blood flow has previously been linked to...

It’s a new year and medical marijuana is finding its way into the Keystone State. That’s not particularly remarkable since it’s a trend which has taken root in plenty of states around the nation. But Pennsylvania gun owners are now facing the same conundrum threatening to plague their fellow Second Amendment enthusiasts in other states where either medical or recreational pot has been legalized. The Pennsylvania State Police are telling everyone with both a firearm and a medical marijuana card to prepare to find a way to “dispose” of their guns. (CBS Pittsburgh)

A group of climbers had to be rescued from the top of a mountain after getting so stoned they couldn’t get back down. The four walkers got stuck on top of the 3,209ft Scafell Pike in Cumbria’s Lake District – the highest peak in England. After successfully reaching the top, however, they found themselves ‘incapacitated’ from having taken cannabis. Cumbria Police confirmed that mountain rescue and air ambulances had to be scrambled in order to rescue the climbers. ‘Persons stuck on mountain after taking cannabis. Now having to deploy mountain rescue, air support and ambulance to rescue them,’ Cumbria Police...

GOV. WOLF SIGNS PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL INTO LAW HARRISBURG, Pa. (WPVI) -- Gov. Tom Wolf has signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania into law. The bill will go into effect in the next month. Wolf sat surrounded by a crowd of supporters Sunday, including law makers from both sides of the isle, who in a bi-partisan effort lobbied to make medical marijuana legal. "We stopped being liberals and started being problem solvers, and we stopped being conservatives and started being compromisers," said Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Pa.). "And we stopped being politicians and started being human beings." Patients...

Pennsylvania will soon become the first state to legalize medical marijuana through the legislature. The Pennsylvania House on Wednesday made a final vote in favor of a medical marijuana bill introduced in 2014. Gov. Tom Wolf said he will sign the bill on Sunday, the AP reports. The overwhelming support of a 149-46 vote capped an intense legislative process for the bill that was initially approved by the Senate last year. The bill has bounced back and forth between Senate and House, each time with added small changes, over the extended period of time

CHICAGO (AP) -- Medical marijuana has not been proven to work for many illnesses that state laws have approved it for, according to the first comprehensive analysis of research on its potential benefits. The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis, according to the review, which evaluated 79 studies involving more than 6,000 patients. Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and Tourette's syndrome and the authors recommend more research.

Medical marijuana has not been proven to work for many illnesses that state laws have approved it for, according to the first comprehensive analysis of research on its potential benefits. The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis, according to the review, which evaluated 79 studies involving more than 6,000 patients. Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and Tourette's syndrome and the authors recommend more research.

Medical marijuana smokers in San Diego say the city has forced their pot shops to locate in remote areas and that means the drives to and from will increase air pollution — and ultimately, harm their lungs. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has filed a lawsuit, saying the city is violating the California Environmental Quality Act, United Press International reported. The suit names as defendants the Coastal Commission and the city of San Diego and claims the zoning laws put in place for marijuana dispensaries means patients have to actually get in their cars to drive to the remote...

Oregon officials are backing off their proposal to prohibit sales of pot-infused treats at medical marijuana stores. In a new set of rules released Monday, the Oregon Health Authority will only ban marijuana-laced products that are made or packaged in ways that might appeal to children. That means nothing brightly colored or formed in the shape of animals, toys or candies. …

Our great friend and Boss Emeritus, Michelle Malkin, offers a powerful testimony today in her column on marijuana legalization — and a surprisingly personal perspective. Sure, we all have fun with jokes at Colorado’s experiment with recreational approval, but the access it creates does more than just serve as easy access to intoxication. Michelle found herself in one of the pot shops that have opened to serve demand that comes from more than just fun and games, hoping to find help for her mother-in-law: It’s 9 a.m. on a weekday, and I’m at the Marisol Therapeutics pot shop. This is...

The U.S. Justice Department says that marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws... Deputy Attorney General James Cole said a 2009 memo by then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden did not give states cover from prosecution. Starting in February, 10 U.S. attorney's offices have asserted they have the authority to prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws. Prosecutors, the states complained, are not even willing to declare that state employees who implement such laws are immune from prosecution.

PORTLAND, Oregon — The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug. The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it — as long as they are out of public view — despite a federal ban. "This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members," said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization. "Our plans go beyond serving food...

A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for the cash-strapped state, according to an official analysis released Wednesday by tax officials. The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Citing uncertainty prompted by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, California health officials suspended a program on Friday that had begun providing patients who smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons with state-issued identification cards. State Health Director Sandra Shewry has asked the state Attorney General's office to review the court ruling to determine whether the ID program would put patients and state employees at risk of federal prosecution. "I am concerned about unintended potential consequences of issuing medical marijuana ID cards that could affect medical marijuana users, their families and staff of the California Department of Health...