Browsing Marijuana News

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced in March that in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is taking steps to assist those who require access to medical marijuana. Under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order, dispensaries and other businesses operating in Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis industry are deemed to be essential, life-sustaining entities that need to remain open to support the Commonwealth’s growing patient-base. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commonwealth temporarily suspended certain statutory and regulatory provisions. For starters, dispensary workers are now able to provide medical cannabis to a cardholder in their vehicle located on the facility’s …

H.R. 1058: The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (CARES) Act of 2019, or the Autism CARES Act of 2019, was signed into law by the President on Monday (9/30/2019). The CARES Act reauthorizes and expands the provisions earlier introduced in the Combating Autism Act of 2006. What The Autism CARES Act Means For ASD Patients The Autism CARES Act ensures support for research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and enhances programs relating to autism. The latest version of the Act renews the legislation for another five years, tagging $369M annually for ASD-efforts through 2024.

The United States Department of Defense and GW Pharmaceuticals are collaborating on a new clinical trial at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. The study examines the effect of the cannabinoid Cannabidivarin, more commonly referred to as CBDV, on irritability and repetitive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder. Researchers are hoping to discover if CBDV is a viable solution for treating the symptoms typically associated with this disorder. CBDV is a non-psychotropic compound (meaning it does not affect a person’s mental state), making the chemistry and benefits of CBDV more similar to …

Healthcare in the Western world is dominated by doctors, physician assistants, nurses and other professionals who practice “standard” medical care. There are, however, others that specialize in providing compassionate integrative medicine and use all healing sciences to promote health and prevent illness. Dr. Donald Abrams, a world-renowned doctor utilizing the latest integrative cannabis therapies with patients, is on the record for saying “I believe people, especially those getting cancer treatments, really benefit from having both a Western diagnosis, as well as a whole-person approach. Good nutrition is an important part of the prescription, but other options are: fitness training, massage, …

A major hurdle for recreational cannabis sales in the Bay State was cleared on Monday. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has granted its first provisional retail license to sell adult-use marijuana. The five member commission unanimously voted to grant the license to Cultivate, a medical cannabis dispensary currently operating in Worcester County. The company describes itself as a farm-to-table operation, and takes pride in the fact that it grows and sells medicinal grade cannabis at the same location. The company has also applied for cultivation and manufacturing of adult-use cannabis. Planning …

The FDA announced in a press release on Monday that it had approved the “first drug comprised of an active ingredient derived from marijuana to treat rare, severe forms of epilepsy.” Prior to this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved only three cannabinoid-based medicines. None of the approved drugs contain, or are derived from, the whole cannabis plant. Instead, they are all created from isolated synthetics that do not offer the benefits of the entourage effect. FDA Grants Approval of Epidiolex On June 26, 2018, the FDA granted approval of Epidiolex, …

At the time of this article’s publishing, thirty states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation permitting use of medical cannabis. Of those, nine states and DC have went a step further and legalized marijuana for all adults 21 and over. Although this is exciting for many advocates of the plant, many patients that are suffering from ailing health conditions are left wondering what this means for them, and how exactly all of these changes will impact their healthcare options. Do you qualify for medical cannabis? There is no universal handbook for a medical cannabis program. You will find …

On June 26, Oklahoma voters approved State Question Number 788 – Initiative Number 412, an activist-led, signature-driven ballot measure launched more than two years ago. This makes the Sooner State the 30th state in the nation to permit the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and perhaps the most conservative state yet to approve its use. The measure is one of the most permissive cannabis policies in the U.S. The typical list of qualifying conditions doesn’t exist. Instead, doctors will be able to recommend cannabis using the same accepted standards for recommending any other medications — a …

Introduced in July 2014, New York’s medical marijuana program has been a work in progress from the get-go. The state recently announced an expansion to its program that is beginning to open the door to improved patient access. These changes included adding chronic pain and PTSD to its list of qualifying medical conditions. Chronic pain, on its own, is already responsible for more than 7,500 new patients joining New York’s MMJ program. This is a step forward for the state that was once criticized for its strict rules. Similarly so, New York recently took steps to end …

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo marked this past Veteran’s Day by signing a measure that expanded the state’s medical cannabis qualifying conditions to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The legislation was sponsored by Senator Diane Savino, a proponent of the inclusion since the program’s infancy. The bill received near unanimous support in the Assembly with a 131-8 vote, and with a Senate approval of 50-13. Its passing expands coverage to an estimated 19,000 New Yorkers. In doing so, it is expected to bring needed relief to a series of New York residents, including its veteran population. Additionally, it could bring …