Rarely does a week go by without a new headline, from a respected publication, coming out highlighting another of the amazing benefits of responsible cannabis use. While critics of medical marijuana ignorantly, and incessantly, argue that a majority of medicinal weed smokers have no real physical ailment, every day more and more people across the country are stepping out of the cannabis closet to treat their illnesses.
The headlines regarding cannabis and health benefits have become so commonplace, that we as advocates need to constantly remind ourselves that while it is a miraculous plant, marijuana is not a “miracle drug”. Still, it comes as a bit of a shock when otherwise respected scientists and researchers rush so quickly to condemn pot as a useless form of pseudo-medicine, as a recent article in the journal of Arthritis Care and Research unfortunately did.

Under the guise of helping sick patients find relief, Maryland created the country’s most restrictive medical marijuana program last year that limits distribution to people who sign up for university-run studies licensed through the state. The program is so strict that many medical marijuana advocacy groups don’t consider Maryland to be a true medical marijuana state.
Lawmakers were quick to pat themselves on the back for being so progressive, but nearly a year later the reality is that the program has gone nowhere and sick Marylanders are still without access to legal medical marijuana.

Since September, Long Beach city officials have been working on officially allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in the southern California city. They’re just not clear on exactly how to do it.

According to the Press-Telegram, Long Beach City Attorney Charles Parkin says he has concerns with the legality of a current proposal that limits dispensaries to industrial zones, with no more than two dispensaries allowed in each city district.