Legalized marijuana sales are booming in the U.S., with the industry growing by a whopping 74% last year. Even so, total sales came in less than $3 billion in 2014, according to a report from the ArcView Group, showing that the drug remains in its infancy in terms of its economic potential. 

Source: Wikimedia.

The interesting part from an investing viewpoint, though, is that although the medical marijuana market is expected to grow to over $10 billion by 2018, that figure still pales in comparison to other rapidly growing healthcare segments, such as treatments for severe pain.

Source: Wikimedia.

Queensland has woken up — or at least arched its eyebrow and propped one lid open.

We can only hope that it will continue to emerge into consciousness.

Signing up to be part of NSW’s medical cannabis trial for suffering children and dying adults is a sign it is at least willing to listen to the people.

We should be grateful for small mercies.

But nagging concerns about this whole positive medical movement linger.

It is concerning that NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said the trials would not include crude cannabis, but a derivative — presumably in a pill.

This is presumably to head off any chance that the public might envisage children puffing on a plant and getting high.

Mother says drug trial is a step forward for fortunate patients but will take too long for patients who are out of time.

That is how Waterford mother and Medical Cannabis Advisory Group of Queensland spokeswoman Lanai Carter reacted to the announcement of Queensland’s first medicinal cannabis trial.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland would join the NSW Government, which last year announced scientific trials for patients.

But it was not good enough for Ms Carter, whose son Lindsay has a brain tumour.

The Carter family has twice travelled to the US to enable Lindsay to receive cannabis oil treatment, which she said reduced the size of his tumour, soothed his pain and altered the frequency of seizures.

Medical-cannabis campaigners have slammed the increasing use of roadside saliva testing by police on the north coast and across the state to fight illegal drug use, saying the devices used are inaccurate and having negative impacts.

With just over a week to go before the 23rd annual cannabis-law reform Mardi Grass festival and rally at Nimbin, the state government is being urged to re-look its saliva-testing program, which the cannabis-law-reform lobby says unfairly targets medical and recreational cannabis users and has ‘nothing to do with (driving) impairment’.

Medicinal cannabis experts from North America and Australia will feature at this year’s ‘Hemposium’ at the 23rd Mardi Grass at Nimbin.

Mardi Grass organisers said the impressive line-up of speakers would showcase their medical cannabis methods, discuss cutting edge advances in cannabis science, and share their experiences with the evolution of law reform.

‘We’re excited to welcome Dr David Bearman from California who is a world leader in the field of cannabinoid medicine; from Canada, Ajia Mae Moon, creator of WeedWoman, and founder and owner of Threehappycats; and from the booming green economy of Colorado, Abe Acton and Matthew Appleseed from High Country Cannabis Tours,’ Nimbin Hemp Embassy president Michael Balderstone said.

A Sydney medical marijuana activist has been arrested after blazing up on the steps of Town Hall.

Jesse Willesee, the son of veteran TV journalist Terry Willesee and nephew of Mike Willesee, announced his plans to take part in the pro-pot protest known as 420 Day by posting a photo of himself smoking a joint outside the Opera House on Instagram to more than 6600 followers.

"I'm willing to stand up for what I believe in and if that means the police turn up, that is something I will have to regretfully but peacefully accept," the 27-year-old self-styled conceptual artist told ninemsn, adding that Australia is stuck in the dark ages on the issue.

Victoria and Queensland have joined New South Wales in taking part in a clinical trial for the use of medicinal marijuana.

The three largest eastern states will decriminalise the use of cannabis oil for the treatment of conditions like chemotherapy-related nausea, drug-resistant severe epilepsy and in palliative care.

Why do we all salivate and desire flavour when smoking cannabis? Are ‘the munchies’ caused by the substance or does our body need the extra energy?… obviously not. A team of European neuroscientists led by Giovanni Marsicano from the University of Bordeaux found that, in mice, THC fits into receptors in the brain’s olfactory bulb, significantly increasing the animals’ ability to smell food and leading them to eat more of it.

Tasmania is set to give the green light for Australia's first legal medical marijuana grower, in what is expected to be the start of a new industry for the state. Capital Mining, a failed explorer with a plan to transform itself as the second ASX-listed cannabis company, has struck a deal that puts it in line to be granted the first licence. 

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