Marijuana can kill cancer cells and shrink some types of brain tumour, new research has found.

A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - funded by the US Government - shows extracts from the plants can help enhance the impact of radiation therapy.

It is believed that the drug – which is legal in a number of American states – can also shrink some of the most serious types of brain tumours.

Getty Health: The use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in some US states

A Lumby based medical marijuana company is looking to develop products in the pet nutrition industry and tap into a new market.

True Leaf Medicine International has applied to become a medical marijuana licenced producer and sees the pet industry as a new revenue source. True Leaf CEO Darcy Bomford sees pet nutrition as a “natural fit for his company” and will focus on pet products as an extension to the company.

Perth, April 9, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - PhytoTech Medical Limited (ASX:PYL) is pleased to report that MMJ has received from Health Canada a "confirmation of readiness letter" that precedes the scheduling of a pre-licensing inspection. 

Highlights

- MMJ Bioscience Inc. ("MMJ") receives pre-inspection readiness request from Health Canada for its Duncan facility that traditionally precedes the scheduling of a pre-licence.

- There are currently only 22 companies holding facilities licensed to produce medical cannabis ("MC") in Canada under the MMPR, with MMJ-PYL on track to become one of the next.

Published: Apr 10, 2015, 2:49 pm

By Ricardo Baca, The Cannabist Staff

Colorado sold a record amount of recreational marijuana in February 2015, according to new data released by the state on Friday.

Marijuana can kill cancer cells, the US government has confirmed.

It is believed that the drug – which is legal in a number of American states – can also shrink some of the most serious types of brain tumours.

The research was carried out by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is funded by the federal government.

Part of a NIDA publication reads: ‘Recent animal studies have shown that marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others.

‘Evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumors.

‘Research in mice showed that these extracts, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation.’

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cleveland Indians fans won't be the only ones who will be humming "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" Friday afternoon. Petitioners for two separate efforts to legalize marijuana will also be at Progressive Field looking for support for their proposals to change Ohio's constitution.

ResponsibleOhio and Ohioans To End Prohibition each are collecting signatures from registered voters. The Tribe game with a crowd of more than 40,000 fans offers a chance for each group to get a lot of signatures on their petitions.

Legalizing marijuana Several proposals are in the works to legalize marijuana in Ohio. Check here for an update on the status of those efforts.

The Town of Innisfil will now have more say as to where potential medical marijuana production facilities can set up shop in the municipality.

Councillors approved the final town-wide provisions for Health Canada licensed medical marijuana production facilities in committee-of-the-whole Wednesday night, in a record vote of 7-2.

The vote was the culmination of approximately 300 staff hours in drafting the provisions, which featured countless public meetings and presentations to council since early 2014.

At the beginning of 2014, when Colorado became the first state to allow the sale of marijuana for recreational use, the whole world was watching. “It was insane,” says Toni Fox, owner of Denver’s 3D Cannabis Center, where the first sale happened. “On January 1, there were close to 200 reporters here. Controlled chaos. It was just packed with reporters.”

But the more successful Colorado’s model is and the more imitation it inspires, the less attention it will get. “Colorado is not going to be the top dog for much longer,” says Kayvan Khalatbari, co-owner of the Denver Relief dispensary. “I think it’s only a matter of time before Colorado really gets overlooked.”

In “Weed the People,” Bainbridge Island author Bruce Barcott delivers a thorough and entertaining survey of the burgeoning legalization of marijuana in the U.S. Barcott appears April 15 at Seattle’s Elliott Bay Book Co.

‘Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America’ by Bruce Barcott Time, Inc., 400 pp., $22.95

The OLCC may have reached too far in seeking to create a new class of police: Pot Cops

Just when you thought it was safe to smoke marijuana in Oregon, along comes a new breed of law enforcement officer: the pot cop.

The pot cop can bust retailers for selling buds to people under 21—or even letting them inside a store. He runs stings on growers who aren’t paying taxes. 

And if you’re growing too many plants in your house, some fear the pot cop could seize your marijuana and take you to jail.

The pot cop doesn’t exist yet—but the Oregon Liquor Control Commission has asked to greatly extend its power beyond what voters gave the agency in November when they approved legalized recreational marijuana.