Medical Marijuana

It plans to dominate the legalized marijuana industry and become a star of Wall Street in the process:  Medbox says it is set to be a core part of the infrastructure of a drug business that, judging by current trends, will get a lot bigger in the coming decade.

 

Eighteen U.S. states have already passed some form of medical marijuana laws, and last year recreational marijuana was cleared for legalization by voters in Washington and Colorado. In a feature piece on Medbox this week, Bloomberg Businessweek said $1.7 billion of legal marijuana could be sold this year, reaching $5 billion by 2018.

 

Plenty of small companies are scrambling to get in on the action, spotting an informal and largely illegal industry that looks set to grow into something much more consolidated and professional. We took a look at a few of them after the legalization votes last year.

 

Some aim to produce pharmaceutical-grade drugs, others want to run chains of retail stores, but Medbox sees itself as something of an infrastructure company, Businessweek reported:

 

Medbox’s core product resembles a Redbox DVD dispenser, only it’s black, refrigerated, and armored. Bedrick avoids the term vending machine because you can’t just saunter up to a Medbox, put in a few bills, and walk away with a stash of weed. The devices sit behind sales counters at state-licensed marijuana dispensaries. Biometric technology identifies the fingerprints of patients carrying state-issued medical marijuana cards. Clerks hand over plastic vials of cannabis leaf or, depending on the machine, cannabis-infused brownies, lozenges, or other “medibles.” A database tracks everything so that patients can’t buy more than their legal allotment, clerks can’t pilfer the merch, and states can collect taxes.

 

The company’s technology, including patents connected to automated dispensing of drugs by machines connected to databases of prescription holders, has application well beyond the medical marijuana industry. Its founder, Bruce Bedrick, told Corporate Intelligence it is “the safest, most secure and legally compliant way to store and dispense” drugs of the herbal or pharmaceutical variety.

 

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com

MONTGOMERY, AL — A bill that sought to legalize and regulate the adult use of marijuana in Alabama has been killed by a committee in the House.

 

House Bill 550  was tabled by the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and will not be voted on, or even receive a hearing, this year.

 

House Bill 550, the Alabama Cannabis and Hemp Reform Act of 2013,  was introduced in April by Birmingham Democrat Rep. Patricia Todd, who has unsuccessfully lobbied her colleagues at the Alabama state house to legalize medical marijuana, including two medical marijuana bills introduced this year.

 

The bill would have also authorized the medical use of marijuana in Alabama and the cultivation of industrial hemp.

 

Rep. Todd is expected to re-introduce the legislation next year.

 

Read more: http://www.thedailychronic.net/

SAN FRANCISCO -- Several dozen protesters gathered in downtown Berkeley Wednesday afternoon to fight federal action against one of California's oldest medical marijuana dispensaries, targeted for closure by the Justice Department.

 

"The Obama administration's ongoing war against patients is despicable and has to stop," Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, told the crowd. "This is a mean, vindictive move aimed at shutting down one of the oldest and well-respected dispensaries in the country."

 

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag on Friday served pot shop Berkeley Patients Group with a lawsuit that attempts to seize the property and ultimately shut the business. Berkeley officials say the dispensary provides significant benefits to the community.

 

"BPG has served as a national model of the not-for-profit, services-based medical cannabis dispensary," Berkeley City Council member Darryl Moore said in a resolution opposing the lawsuit. "They have improved the lives and assisted the end-of-life transitions of thousands of patients; been significant donors to dozens of other organizations in our city; [and] shaped local, state and national policies around medical cannabis."

 

Berkeley Patients Group received a letter from Haag last year, claiming its location within 1,000 feet of a school broke state law. The operation later relocated, and the lawsuit makes no mention of its proximity to schools or violation of specific laws.

 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com

In the cold and sometimes inhospitable environment of Nova Scotia, those suffering from life-threatening terminal illnesses such as cancer were suddenly finding relief. They can thank Rick Simpson and his miracle marijuana oil.

 

Located in one of Canada’s smallest provinces, everybody knew Rick Simpson in the town of McCann. Some knew Rick because he has shared his secret to life with them, others because they believe him to be a crackpot; little more than a geriatric pot peddler.

 

Stating the most basic of facts, Rick points out ”you can’t deny your own eyes, now can you? Here’s someone that was dying of cancer… and they’re not dying anymore.”

 

As dozens of major scientific studies have recently demonstrated, Rick was right. In both the lab tests and tests performed on animals, the active cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant are nothing short of a miracle drug. 

 

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com

Cambridge medical technology business, GW Pharmaceuticals, has earned a key European approval for its cannabis-based prescription medicine Sativex® in Italy – and a €250k windfall in the process.

 

Full marketing authorisation has been granted by the authorities in Italy for the treatment of moderate to severe spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis patients who have not responded adequately to other anti-spasticity medications.

 

Regulatory, pricing and reimbursement approvals are now in place for an expected commercial launch in September by GW’s partner, Almirall S.A. The breakthrough triggers a €250,000 milestone payment from Almirall to GW.

 

Justin Gover, CEO of GW, said: “The approval in Italy brings the total to 21 countries that have approved Sativex® for use in the treatment of MS spasticity.

 

“In granting reimbursement approval for Sativex®, we appreciate the foresight of the Italian authorities in recognising the value of a medicine that treats a particularly debilitating symptom of MS that is not adequately treated with currently available medications.

 

“We now look forward to working with our partners Almirall towards commercial launch in this important market in a few months’ time.”

 

Source: http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/