A young man rolls a cannabis joint at a marijuana lounge in Barcelona, Spain. Such establishments have been slow to pop up in America's state-legal marijuana markets. (Photo by: Sergi Reboredo/VW PICS/UIG via Getty Images) The city of Denver granted its first license on Monday to a business that will allow marijuana use on its premises. The Coffee Joint plans to charge patrons a $5 entry fee and permit them to consume their own cannabis in edible or vapor form. Denver voters approved a measure to create a social-use pilot program in 2016. Interested businesses like cafes and art galleries must jump through several bureaucratic hurdles to apply – including obtaining the support of a neigh

AN AUSTRALIAN-first study of medicinal cannabis as a treatment for the debilitating neurological condition Tourette syndrome is set to be launched in Brisbane. Wesley Medical Research Institute neuropsychiatrist Philip Mosley will trial a medicinal cannabis product in 24 adults with severe Tourette syndrome – a disorder which begins in childhood and is characterised by involuntary movements and vocalisations. Many people with the condition also experience anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. The condition is associated with bullying and poor academic performance in childhood and adolescence, and with unemployment and social isolation as an adult. Existing treatments include

There is growing disquiet about the NSW drug driving testing regime. (file pic) Nimbin’s Hemp Embassy is calling on police across Australia to ‘back off’ following the publication of a study that found cannabis use caused almost no impairment on driving. The study found that the impairment that it did cause was similar to that observed under the influence of a legal alcohol limit. Researchers at the University of Iowa’s National Advanced Driving Simulator carried out the study, sponsored by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Institute of Drug Abuse, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone. Nimbin Hemp Embassy pr

There is only weak evidence to support claims that medicinal cannabis reduces opioid-related deaths, says drug abuse expert A piece published in The Conversation has suggested that opioids can be substituted by medicinal cannabis with more effective results. Written by researchers from the University of British Columbia, the article says a 2014 study that analysed data from across the United States over a 10-year period found that states that had legalised medical cannabis saw 25% fewer opioid-related deaths, compared to states where medical cannabis remained illegal. The authors also said that in a 2017 study, 80% of medical cannabis patients in California reported that taking cannabi

Ready for trials: Researchers exploring the benefits of medicinal cannabis include (from left) Matthew Spitzer, Associate Professor Phillip Good, Professor Janet Hardy and Georgie Cupples at Mater Research. QUEENSLAND researchers will soon start a major clinical trial to find out the benefits of medicinal cannabis for cancer patients receiving palliative care. “We are delighted to be one of nineteen research projects funded in this round right across Australia,” team leader from Mater Research in Brisbane Professor Janet Hardy said. Medicinal cannabis is now legal in Queensland, yet Professor Hardy said so little was known about the more than 100 different cannabinoids contained in each ca

For the vast majority of Australian patients, medicinal cannabis is little more than a pipe dream and part of the problem lies with the all-too-conservative approach that relies on specialist doctors. Those seeking medicinal cannabis in Australia must navigate a cumbersome application process, which requires going to a specialist physician not a GP. The result is that patients either go without or continue to use illicitly sourced products of unknown composition and safety. Australia's cumbersome application system makes it difficult for patients to access medicinal cannabis. Photo: Supplied Seeing a specialist generally involves long waiting times and significant expense - and should you v

NEW OPPORTUNITY: Farrer MP has thrown her support behind the idea of regional farmers looking into growing medicinal cannabis crops in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. FARRER MP Sussan Ley has thrown her support behind the concept of farmers in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area growing medicinal cannabis, but ruled out supporting any changes to legislation regulating access to the drug. Ms Ley was the federal health minister when the Therapeutic Goods Administration declared medicinal cannabis would be legal, and its usage regulated by the government. At the same time though, a regulatory change was made which made it much more difficult for patients to access medicinal cannabis, a chang

The federal minister for health says it's up to the states and territories to judge the suitability of a doctor to prescribe. Planet Observer / Getty Images The president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has called the country's medicinal cannabis regulations a "basket case" — but federal health minister Greg Hunt says it's a problem for the states and territories to sort out. Last week, Bastian Seidel of the RACGP told ABC News it was almost impossible to get a prescription. "It's impossible because of political reasons — that's why I've called it political cannabis rather than medicinal cannabis." Politically, medicinal cannabis sits in the uncomfortab

Australian patients using medicinal cannabis illegally say their only worry about being arrested would be having their medicine taken from them. Afp Contributor / AFP / Getty Images Medicinal cannabis in Australia is legal but patients claim it is still incredibly hard to obtain. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) estimates a few hundred people have legal access to the drug, while roughly 100,000 people use the drug medicinally through illegal means. Currently, the pathway to accessing medicinal cannabis is determined in part by what state or territory you are in. Patients say it can be an incredibly stressful and time-consuming process, with doctors, specialists and the TGA al

Interstate traffic, notably visitors from New Mexico and Texas, are what drive booming sales to Las Animas County. Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post - Downtown Trinidad is seen on Dec. 2, 2010. Colorado marijuana shops raked in a record $1.51 billion sales of medical and recreational cannabis, edibles and concentrate products during 2017, according to Colorado Department of Revenue data released Friday. Adult-use sales topped $1.09 billion during the year, with the remaining $416.52 million coming from medical marijuana. Colorado collected upward of $247 million in taxes and fees revenue from marijuana sales, according to state finance data. The previous record was in 2016, when marijuana shop

Earlier this week, positive results were released from a clinical study testing a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) patients in the UK. The drug being tested, called Sativex, has been developed by GW Pharmaceuticals and is currently approved for use in multiple sclerosis patients for muscle spasms in a number of worldwide countries. GBM is the most common high grade brain tumour in adults, for which existing treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy give little benefit. This study involving 21 patients showed that those treated with a combination of THC and CBD alongside chemotherapy drug temozolomide (TMZ

Photo: Medicinal cannabis user Simon Sweeting struggled to obtain a prescription for the drug. (ABC News: Nadia Daly) Medicinal cannabis was legalised in Australia two years ago, but patients and doctors are still struggling to access the drug and say the barriers and bureaucracy are driving thousands of people to a flourishing black market. Simon Sweeting suffered chronic back pain for decades after a fracture and several surgeries. For years he sought relief from a cocktail of opioids and other painkillers, but when the pain got worse and the side effects from the medication became too much, his GP began the long process of applying for permission to prescribe medical cannabis. "[M

An international advocate for medicinal cannabis use says Australia needs to work harder at changing social attitudes toward its use. Ana Maria Gazmuri was a Chilean soap opera actress in the 1980s and is now president of the Daya Foundation, a not-for-profit that promotes alternative therapies and medicinal cannabis. Medicinal cannabis is coming to WA. Photo: Rohan Thomson Chile legalised the use of medical marijuana in 2015 and Gazmuri was a prominent advocate for that change. She's now touring Australia to speak at events supporting medicinal cannabis and is in Perth where the Daya Foundation has teamed up with medicinal cannabis company Zelda Therapeutics. Gazmuri told WAtoday although

The dope squad base at Uki earlier this week. (supplied) Growers beware. The dope squad is back in the air. As part of its annual cannabis eradication program, NSW police have once again sent their ‘cannabis cowboys’ into battle against the easiest of targets – the region’s outdoor cannabis growers. Reports indicate that the dope squad has set up base at both Mullumbimby and Uki this week, and more raids are expected to follow. The raids, which have long been controversial in a region that prides itself as being on the forefront of medical cannabis activism, have a huge impact on people trying to grow their own ‘medicine’. Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone, who is this morni

PAIN RELIEF: The court heard that David Edward McEvoy had been able to reduce his OxyContin use from 80mg to 30mg a day by using cannabis oil to numb his pain. A FATEFUL decision as a 14-year-old to enter a Sydney pyrotechnics factory left Gaeta man David Edward McEvoy with a lifetime of pain. The now 54-year-old was with three other children when a fire broke out. The blaze killed one of the children and left McEvoy with burns to 85 per cent of his body, 65 per cent of which were third degree. McEvoy lost count of the operations he had in the years that followed and he continues to suffer with pain from those injuries he suffered 40 years ago. The traumatic events were detailed i

A world-first trial has received federal funding and within a matter of months, Queensland researchers hope to start investigating the symptom relief medicinal cannabis can provide to cancer patients receiving palliative care. The trial will test several combinations of medicinal cannabinoids, natural products of the cannabis plant, to see which symptoms can be targeted and which variety of cannabinoids provides the most effective relief for just more than 200 terminally ill south-east Queensland patients. The Mater Research Institute and University of Queensland are leading a world-first medicinal cannabis trial, set to begin later this year. Photo: Supplied Mater Research Institute and

Medical cannabis saved a six-year-old girl with Dravet Syndrome called Katelyn. A rare but severe form of epilepsy which affects children, Dravet Syndrome gave Katelyn a 16 percent chance of dying each year. It would eventually take away here ability to walk, talk and feed herself. Katelyn’s grandparents are Barry and Joy Lambert. The sold their company Count Financial for $373 million in 2011, and Barry is a well-known investor. “Katelyn was born with a gene mutation – Dravet Syndrome. It manifests itself after about 6 months with severe and numerous seizures. It is said to be catastrophic, intractable and incurable,” said Barry. “Our son searched the net and found a girl in America

Is this the answer? Image: Shutterstoc Prescription only rules for codeine came into effect yesterday leading Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm to call on the Federal Government to quit dithering and cut the red tape preventing thousands of Australians suffering chronic pain from accessing medicinal cannabis. “It has now become a matter of urgency that seriously ill patients obtain access to an effective and safe alternative,” Senator Leyonhjelm said. “If the Federal Government cannot remove the bureaucratic barriers doctors are currently facing when trying to legally administer medicinal cannabis, the black market for products such as codeine-based pain killers will flourish.” “I

Senator David Leyonhjelm says medicinal cannabis should be available to Australians now over-the-counter codeine products have been banned. Click PLAY below for the full interview Senator Leyonhjelm tells Ben Fordham the move to make codeine prescription-only is “ridiculous” but medicinal marijuana could be an alternative. “I’ve been battling for several years on the medical marijuana issue. “Almost nobody can get access to it. The bureaucracy is throwing up rules… difficulties of all kinds so that the end result is patients are continuing to suffer. “Some of those patients would have been using codeine and now maybe the option would be medical marijuana if they could get it. “Peop

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm. Image: Facebook The pain relief gap left by codeine should be filled by cannabis, says libertarian Senator Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm has called on the Federal Government to smooth the way for Australians suffering chronic pain to access medicinal cannabis, slamming the current system as “onerous” and snared with red tape. “With prescription-only rules for codeine coming into effect today, it has now become a matter of urgency that seriously ill patients obtain access to an effective and safe alternative,” Senator Leyonhjelm says. “If the Federal Government cannot remove the bureaucratic barriers doctors are currently facing w