Inhaled cannabis can blunt the pain of diabetic neuropathy without seriously impairing cognitive function, a new study shows.

"The higher the dose, the more the pain relief," first author Mark Wallace, MD, told Medscape Medical News. "There was, however, a dose-dependent increase in euphoria."

The study is the first randomized controlled trial of inhaled cannabis for diabetic neuropathy pain, said Dr Wallace, chair of the Division of Pain Management at the University of California, San Diego. It was published in the July issue of the Journal of Pain.

Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier taken prisoner by the Taliban before before being released and charged with desertion, was spotted at a California marijuana farm Tuesday morning during a police raid, according to local reports.

Calling him an “unexpected visitor,” The Anderson Valley Advertiser reported Bergdahl was visiting old friends in Mendocino County when authorities raided the marijuana farm.

U.S. Army via Getty Images

Sheriff Tom Allman confirmed to the Advertiser that Bergdahl was in fact present when the drug task force conducted a raid. He, however, added that Bergdahl “readily produced his military ID,” but was “not involved” in the marijuana operation.

The country's most populous state could be on the right path toward full marijuana legalization in 2016 after a major report, spearheaded by the state's Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and released Wednesday, has attempted to lay the groundwork for implementing adult recreational pot sales. 

While the report, titled the "Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy," neither endorses nor opposes legalizing pot in California, it signals that lawmakers consider marijuana legalization a shoo-in with voters next year, and they're willing to start preparing now for when that day comes. 

IVXX continues to expand California presence

SAN FRANCISCO — A blue-ribbon panel says curtailing the illegal marijuana market in California should be the primary goal of legalizing the drug’s recreational use in the state, and not developing another tax source.

In a 93-page report released Wednesday, the panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom presents a wide range of choices and competing interests involved as advocates work to bring a recreational use initiative to voters next year.

Chief among the issues will be to determine how to structure licenses that growers and others in the industry will need. The panel indicated it wants that done in a way that both allows existing small suppliers to participate as well as leading to legitimate jobs without creating an unwieldy system.

A panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes to guide the debate on the legalization of marijuana in California with an emphasis on limiting children’s access to cannabis, reducing illegal activity and tightly regulating the drug's growth and sales. 

In a report released Wednesday, the group lays out 58 recommendations and goals for implementing general legalization -- an issue expected to go before voters next year.

The document offers broad principles --“protecting California’s youth” -- as well as nitty-gritty suggestions for collecting data and limiting advertising.

Despite a memo from the Department of Justice last October, the legal status of pot on tribal lands is still unclear.

In the foggy early morning hours of Wednesday, July 8, special agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Drug Enforcement Administration and state and local law enforcement descended on the Pit River Tribe’s XL Ranch and the Alturas Indian Rancheria in northeastern California, seizing 12,000 marijuana plants and 100 pounds of processed potfrom the two large-scale growing facilities.

Google has removed from its Play store an app that allowed California residents to purchase medical marijuana from growers.

Green Exchange had said Google approved its Loud Cannabis app and that the program had been available for months before getting pulled. The app allowed people who use marijuana for medical reasons to connect with growers and arrange to have the drug delivered to them.

Downloads of Loud Cannabis increased after the app received an award earlier this month, possibly leading Google to more closely examine the services offered, Green Exchange said Monday.

Some pet owners are claiming that hemp-based treats cure many of their pets’ ailments. The treats are infused with cannabinoids or CBDs but don’t have THC, so the animal doesn’t get high. One of the hemp-based treat brands called Treatibles has been used by some owners for anxiety or stress in their dogs. Andrew Mizia stated that his dog Fred can be stressed when around other dogs, and he stated the following regarding the result when he gives the canine the treat, according to ABC Channel 7.

Wendy Del Rosa, one of two warring siblings claiming to lead a tiny Indian band just south of the Oregon border, began urgently writing to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento in early May.

The Alturas Rancheria – totaling three members or nine, depending on which faction one believes – had not been content with the earnings from its humble wood-plank gambling house, the Desert Rose Casino. It had pursued various ill-fated ventures, including payday lending and manufacturing cigarettes.

Now, Del Rosa warned in a series of letters to authorities, the tribe was converting a cavernous, tented event center on the reservation into a huge facility for growing marijuana.