The first participant in a clinical trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of smoking marijuana to treat PTSD in veterans was given cannabis on Monday, according to the organization conducting the study. 

The study is the first such trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using marijuana to manage symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder in U.S. veterans, officials with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies said in a releaseon Tuesday. 

A fresh way to consume cannabis is gaining fans in California.

Pot-laced mints that contain as little as 2.5 milligrams of THC, the chemical compound in marijuana that makes users high, began cropping up on dispensary shelves last fall and are gaining favor among users who want to avoid smoking or over-dosing on edibles.

"People who quote-unquote 'don't smoke weed' will definitely eat a cannabis-infused mint," Jim Patterson, CEO of marijuana delivery service Eaze (also known as the "Uber for weed"), tells Business Insider.

A rare fungal infection has killed a California man undergoing cancer treatment and it’s believed he got it from medical marijuana.

The treatment left the man’s immune system compromised, but his death still surprised doctors because he was relatively young and his cancer was beatable. He was using medical marijuana to fend off the treatment’s effects. After his death, testing of 20 medical marijuana samples from across the state found the vast majority were contaminated with dangerous bacteria and fungi.

“It started with a couple patients that were undergoing very intensive chemotherapy and a stem cell therapy, and those patients were very immune compromised,” explained Dr. Joseph Tuscano of the University of California, Davis Cancer Center.

Voters in California passed Proposition 64 last November, which legalized the growing, possession and sale of marijuana for recreational, or adult use, purposes. And last  week the San Diego City Council voted to make their city the first one to approve the establishment of recreational marijuana shops in their jurisdiction when the shops are allowed statewide, something that is expected to happen in 2018.

Nine ways federal marijuana laws are limiting rights of residents in legal weed states Derek Peterson, CEO and president of Terra Tech. Just weeks after Prop. 64 passed, Peterson learned the company that for two years had managed Terra Tech’s payroll and health benefits would be dropping them, Dec. 31, because of concern over their role in the cannabis industry. “The decision came out of nowhere,” he said. “We have almost 200 employees that spent their holiday season stressed about the possibility of not having their health benefits available in the new year, let alone a reliable pay schedule.”

Even as he celebrated the end of a big year for his cannabis-focused company, Terra Tech, Derek Peterson was scrambling to cope with some bad news.

A new undergraduate course on “Physiology of Cannabis” (HPH 115) will be offered at UC Davis this spring to raise awareness and understanding of how cannabis and cannabinoids affect the body.

Designed for students in the biological sciences, the three-unit course will cover the biology of cannabis and cannabinoids as well as their physiological effects in multiple systems, underlying mechanisms and therapeutic values. It also will survey the history of cannabis use, cover the endocannabinoid system and discuss potential medical targets for cannabis and their relative effectiveness.

Special interests from the Teamsters to the makers of marijuana-infused mouth spray are sending lobbyists to the California Capitol as the state seeks to reconcile existing medical marijuana laws with the measure to legalize recreational pot voters passed in November.

Forget lingerie, candy and boring flowers; this Valentine's Day, give a gift that truly keeps on giving. Lowell Farms is offering a $400 bouquet of cannabis stems, available for delivery anywhere in Los Angeles on February 14 (and by anywhere, we mean to any patients with a verified doctor recommendation).