Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder characterized by challenges with social interactions and language skills. Symptoms of autism are largely behavioral and (as mentioned on Autism-Resources.com) include lack of eye contact, no speech, aggressive ambivalence towards other people, echolalia, hand flapping and others. Interestingly enough autism is quickly becoming more common, with 1 in 150 children likely to have the disorder in the year 2000.

Minnesota doctors are slow to accept medical cannabis as a treatment option for lack of scientific evidence, fear of addiction and lack of educational programs, according to a new survey released to a state task force Tuesday.

Dr. Charles Reznikoff, a member of the Task Force on Medical Cannabis Therapeutic Research, the group responsible for gathering information about the program, conducted the survey. Reznikoff is an addiction specialist who practices at Hennepin County Medical Center. He sought opinions of 262 doctors from four institutions who practice all across the state.

SASKATOON – CanniMed Ltd. announces Tuesday that Health Canada has given it the go ahead to begin selling edible cannabis oil. Registered patients can already start placing orders.

The company, just east of Saskatoon, said it has successfully fulfilled all of Health Canada’s requirements and has been granted a licence under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR).

CanniMed has developed three oil products using dried cannabis flowers and manufactured using a food-grade alcohol process.

While arguing in court that marijuana has no medical value and is a dangerous drug on the one hand, the federal government is patenting marijuana extracts for health-related uses on the other. And now it is set to grant a license to GW Pharmaceuticals for treating patients with multiple sclerosis with a cannabinoid-based drug called Epidiolex.

We have discussed police power and assault on our person and property. But especially we have noted ongoing assault upon our psyche that twists our minds and makes us prisoners of conscience.

While her two young daughters were shopping with their father in South Weber, Utah, last Oct. 1, Enedina Stanger stayed behind in the parking lot. She had tried everything to help ease the pain from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – the rare and potentially fatal genetic tissue disorder she suffers from – but nothing else worked. She lit up a marijuana cigarette. 

After she was finished, she rolled down the window of her van to let out the smoke. That's when somebody passing by called the police, claiming Enedina was smoking in front of her daughters, who by then had returned to the parking lot with their father, Mike Stanger. 

Indiana State Senator Jean Liesing (R-42nd District) filed a bill last week that may successfully crack open the door to cannabis law reform in The Hoosier State.

Brittany Barger, the first patient to receive medical cannabis at the Vireo Health of New York's White Plains Dispensary(Photo: Mark Vergari/The Journal News)Buy Photo

When Brittany Barger was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the then 26-year-old New Yorker mourned the death of a life she had mapped out.

Then she regrouped and focused on the life ahead of her.

Barger persevered when chemotherapy left her in constant pain and homebound. Even when going to the movies, taking walks and visiting friends became forgotten luxuries, she fought the disease.

Barger, now 27, spoke Tuesday after becoming one of New York’s first medical marijuana patients. She started buying the drug last week at Vireo Health of New York’s dispensary in downtown White Plains.

Two self-proclaimed nuns, Sister Kate and Sister Darcey, grow and sell marijuana for medicinal purposes in Merced, California. But the future of their business is now in jeopardy as the Merced City Council issued a temporary ban on marijuana cultivation after a 6-0 vote on Jan. 4.

The Sisters of the Valley grow and sell medical marijuana products in Merced, California. However, the city recently placed a temporary ban on marijuana cultivation, putting the sisters’ business at risk. Photo credit: Sisters of the Valley

The world of cannabis dosing can be really confusing. Newcomers have no idea where to start and even the experienced cannabis consumer might very well be taking in more cannabis than their body actually needs.

I mean, what even constitutes a dose anyway? How do we factor in the natural variables that come with different strains and cannabinoid profiles? And how does THC tolerance play into all of this? Is it possible that many of us are in fact overdosing?

This is what I love about the concept of micro-dosing with cannabis. As a daily consumer of medical marijuana, it gets me asking important questions and thinking about my regimen in a whole new way.

An increasing number of Canadian doctors are comfortable prescribing medical marijuana, or making referrals to doctors who will prescribe it. But even once patients get the green light from a physician, that doesn't mean they can always access the relief they need.