medical marijuana attorney California

July 14, 2018

Marijuana and the Opioid Crisis: A Tale of Two Countries

In the fight for medical marijuana, there has been no more compelling of a battleground than opioid addiction. Both U.S. and Canadian governments have dubbed the rapid increase in overdoses to be a crisis or epidemic. Meanwhile, cannabis has demonstrated itself to be the potential key to unlocking the addictive cycles, adding to the urgency in passing more effective medical marijuana laws. In New York, emergency rules have been put in place to allow medical marijuana as an opioid replacement. Yet in Ontario, where medical marijuana is permitted at the federal level for a variety of conditions, workers are still having opioids pushed on them.

New York state Department of Health recently added opioid dependency to the list of 12 other conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana recommendations, according to Marijuana Moment. Chronic pain, one of the key issues opioids are used to treat, is already on the list, but specifically adding opioid substitution gives doctors the freedom to recommend cannabis to those with opioid addictions regardless of the reason they started taking them. Officials are hoping this strategy reduces the number of opioid deaths, noting that states with pro-medical marijuana laws on the books have seen a 30 percent drop in opioid prescriptions for Medicaid users. Continue reading

May 4, 2018

High Class Donor Makes University Medical Marijuana Studies Possible

By Cannabis Law Group

More concrete medical marijuana research is on the horizon thanks to grants awarded to two different universities by one foundation with the intent of advancing our understanding of cannabis treatments. University of Utah is planning a $740,000, two-year study on how marijuana affects the brain and why it affects some people differently. UC San Diego, meanwhile, received a cool $4.7 million to research the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of autism. The university said it is the largest private donation for medical cannabis research in U.S. history, according to KPBS.

Where the federal government has failed, The Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation is attempting to fill a need for more comprehensive medical cannabis research. The foundation says it donates sizable grants to projects it believes will help build a “world where all people enjoy equal opportunities to achieve health, purpose, and happiness.” Our medical marijuana attorneys certainly agree cannabis research fits the bill. Project subjects the foundation is funding also include chronic homelessness, economic advancement, housing and health initiatives, and re-entry into society after serving jail time, in addition to cannabis research. Continue reading

February 28, 2018

Students Who Need Medical Marijuana Deserve Easier Access

By Cannabis Law Group

To discourage minors from using marijuana, officials have implemented many regulations. But in regards to medical marijuana and the children who benefit from it, there comes a question of who is really being protected.

Some children use cannabis oils, tinctures, capsules, creams, or liquids as treatment for medical issues with the recommendation and guidance of a physician. These treatments can offer relief to suffering that might otherwise prohibit the child from normal participation in school activities. However, the treatment itself has become a disruption: currently parents must remove children from school property before administering doctor recommended medical marijuana, according to a report from South San Francisco Patch.

Sen. Jerry Hill (D-Mateo) is hoping to put an end to this absurd practice with the introduction of SB-1127. The bill would allow governing bodies of school systems and charter schools to set their own policies, opening the door to allow medical marijuana use on school grounds for grades kindergarten through 12. It would still, of course, prohibit smoking or vaping, even if it is for medicinal purposes. The drug cannot be administered in a way that would be disruptive to the educational environment or that would expose other students. And storage of medical marijuana would not be permitted on school grounds.

September 3, 2016

Medical Marijuana May be Best Solution to Painkiller Epidemic

By Cannabis Law Group

Could medical marijuana by a viable – and much safer – alternative to opioid drugs? A growing body of evidence suggests this to be true, but as a recent Scientific American article noted, scientists are having to trudge through heaps of red tape just to study it. 1398224079gyj36

It was two years ago that we learned of findings uncovered by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) which showed that in states where medical marijuana had been approved between 1999 and 2010, there were 25 percent fewer people dying from opioid overdoses. This is major when you consider the scope of the prescription pain medication epidemic nationally, particularly addictions and overdoses involving Vicodin and OxyContin. The Department of Health and Human Services reports more than 165,000 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses between 1999 and 204. The social and health costs of this drug abuse are estimated to be $55 billion annually.

This had lead researchers on a quest to find a less risky alternative for those in desperate need of pain relief. Continue reading