Medical Marijuana

It’s one thing that 29 states have legal medical marijuana, but quite another to find a doctor to recommend it so patients can purchase their medicine.

Physicians can discuss and safely recommend, although not prescribe, cannabis to patients as a health care option, under state or federal law, thanks to a 2004 Federal Court decision that relied on the First Amendment.

“An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between a doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients,” read the decision.

Medical cannabis statutes in most states, going back to California’s Proposition 215 in 1996, choose this “recommendation” language carefully.

Read More:http://hightimes.com/medicinal/where-are-all-the-medical-marijuana-doctors/

3 Deadly Pharmaceuticals that Could Be Replaced by Marijuana

1.     Opioid-Based Painkillers

So why is Big Pharma investing millions of dollars every year in researching and creating its own marijuana-based pain killers?  Because Big Pharma recognizes medicinal marijuana outshines typical medications in many ways, and the prescriptions drug companies do not want to be left behind when this is recognized on a national level.  

Medicinal marijuana is indisputably beneficial in its comparative safeness.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “opioids killed more than 33,000 people in 2015, and nearly half of all opioid deaths involved a prescription drug.”  Since the recent Marijuana Boom in America, which began nearly a decade ago with the legalization of medical marijuana in several states such as Colorado and California, the misconception that marijuana is “a dangerous street drug” is being questioned more and more.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The treatment of her sister’s back injury has caused Republican gubernatorial candidate Beth Harwell to reevaluate Tennessee’s ban on medical marijuana.

Harwell, who is speaker of the state House of Representatives, told a Republican gathering earlier this month that allowing medical marijuana has come up as part of a discussion about how to tackle the state’s opioid crisis.

The longtime Nashville representative said her sister was recently prescribed opioids after breaking her back.

“She was in a yoga class and came down out of a shoulder stand the wrong way,” Harwell said. “And she was, of course, in a great deal of pain.”

But after the initial doses, she wanted to stop taking the painkillers.

Read More:http://hightimes.com/news/republican-gubernatorial-candidate-open-to-medical-marijuana-law-in-tennessee/

HONOLULU -- Dispensary sales of medical marijuana in Hawaii are beginning after patients waited 17 years for a legal way to purchase the drug.

The state Department of Health on Tuesday gave Maui Wellness Group, LLC dba Maui Grown Therapies the "green light" to begin selling medical marijuana to registered patients and their caregivers, CBS affiliate KGMB-TV reports.

The station adds that registered patients and caregivers can purchase up to 4 ounces of medical marijuana during a 15 consecutive day period and purchase a maximum of 8 ounces over a 30 consecutive day period.

Read More:http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hawaii-first-medical-marijuana-dispensary-maui-grown-therapies/

A new survey, the largest to date, on cannabidiol (CBD) suggests that a growing number of patients are finding more relief from CBD than from traditional pharmaceuticals and they’re acting on this good news—especially the women.

Conducted by the Brightfield Group and HelloMD and covering 2,400 of HelloMD’s community of 150,000 members, the survey found that 55 percent of CBD users were women, while men preferred THC-dominant products.

The most common reasons people used CBD, according to Dr. Perry Solomon, the chief medical officer of HelloMD, were to treat insomnia, depression, anxiety and joint pain.

“We are seeing an exponential rise in the interest of CBD products from our patient community—particularly among women,” said Solomon. “While we still have much to learn about CBD, we cannot ignore this one fact; the majority of those using CBD products today receive great benefit. This has the potential for far-reaching consequences.”

Read More:http://hightimes.com/medicinal/study-shows-nearly-half-of-cbd-users-stop-taking-traditional-meds/

U.S. veterans may finally have access to medical marijuana thanks to an amendment by the The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday which would allow weed for Vets and a process to obtain medical marijuana recommendations through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As it stands today, even veterans in legal states like Colorado and Oregon are not allowed to obtain or use marijuana as the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t recognize the plant as having any possible therapeutic effects.

The amendment sponsors are Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). This time around, upon introducing the amendment again, Senator Merkley said “We often talk about how our soldiers stand up for us, and we need to stand up for them.”

Read More:https://www.theweedblog.com/weed-for-vets-now-possible-with-new-amendment/