Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder have a new place to turn in Cape Breton.

It's a centre that offers to help vets get access to medical marijuana.

Marijuana for Trauma — Veterans Helping Veterans — has opened in the former Victoria Order of Nurses building on King's Road in Sydney.

Founder Fabian Henry is from New Waterford but now lives in Fredericton.

He is a former military combat engineer who has suffered for years from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"After three years, I tried cannabis for the first time in my life and I got relief," said Henry. "That was five years ago and I've only been on one medication for five years now."

'They're not dope addicts'

TORONTO — Doctors and clinics are receiving fees of as much as $350 per patient from medical-marijuana producers eager to snag customer referrals, despite professional rules in some provinces that explicitly outlaw such payments, producers say.

Physicians working under federal law do not prescribe a specific brand of cannabis, but some try to steer patients toward particular cannabis suppliers – and expect reimbursement, industry members report.

Doctors sometimes tell companies the money is to subsidize the cost of verifying patient information, or providing marijuana-related services to patients not covered by medicare.

• This is according to a study on cannabis use among the Aka foragers
• Aka offer anthropologists a window into a way of life of our ancestors
• Higher cannabis use among the Aka is linked to less intestinal worms
• They may unconsciously use medical marijuana to help fight parasites​

Just like we use medical marijuana today, cavemen smoked cannabis to stay healthy.

This is according to a new study on cannabis use among the Aka foragers, a 'pygmy' people of the Congo basin.

US researchers have found that the more the hunter-gatherers smoke cannabis, the less likely they are infected by intestinal worms.

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – With more than 80 illegal pot shops operating in the City of Vancouver, police are growing increasingly concerned about the potential for violent robberies.

“What we did see over the weekend is two break-ins to illegal marijuana stores in Vancouver where it appears a vehicle was used to smash through the front of the business,” says VPD Sergeant Randy Fincham.

He adds a gun and a hammer were used in another violent robbery at an illegal shop in Vancouver.

“It highlights the fact that this is a dangerous element and we are concerned for anybody who happens to be in the area when one of these robberies takes place,” Fincham explains.

Spinal cord injuries can result in some of the most damaging and unbearable side effects possible. Injuries in this area of the body often result in a change, either temporary or permanent to normal motor or sensory function.

A fragile, spaghetti-like plethora of nerves surround the spinal cord, all of which are vital to the human body functioning regularly. When these nerves are compromised, pain, spasticity, depression and many other side effects often occur, leaving the victim in constant need for medical treatment.

City’s plan to regulate marijuana shops is a farce

My local dry cleaner is gone, replaced by one of the more than half a dozen “medical marijuana dispensaries” within a 10-minute walk from my home.

In another neighbourhood, a friend says it’s easier to get a joint than buy a loaf of bread or a litre of milk.

At last count, Vancouver had 84 cannabis stores. There’s one block in Granville Street’s entertainment district has two.

There are so many pot shops along many of the main streets that it’s almost impossible to believe that cannabis is illegal in Canada.

Their signboards are set out on sidewalks. Their posters are on utility poles. Some run ads in weekly newspapers.

The new visibility of police violence toward African-Americans in the United States has stoked public debate about policing: What about body cameras? Should we reform police training? Perhaps we should go slow on all that military gear?

I find it almost impossible to sit through any of this while the underlying issue goes unaddressed: It’s the drug economy, stupid.

A volatile mix of marijuana and camping fuel exploded in a View Street apartment suite on Friday, the second time in a week that hash oil has caused an explosion on Vancouver Island.

Victoria firefighters arrived at the fifth-floor suite at 868 View St., near Quadra Street, about 5:30 p.m. Friday after a resident on the 11th floor called 911 to report an explosion. Firefighters were met by a man with burns to his face and body. There was no fire in the suite, but an explosion had occurred in the kitchen.

The man initially denied that he was cooking drugs, but drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, according to Victoria police.

“He was initially not forthcoming,” said watch commander Sgt. Matt Waterman.

When Dana Beal was locked up in Nebraska and Wisconsin a few years back, facing hard time after being busted transporting hundreds of pounds of marijuana, friends and allies from across the world flew to the Midwest to speak on his behalf. 

These days, all the backup Beal, 68, who ended up serving about three years, says he needs is five or six people to join his bi-weekly pickets outside of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in lower Manhattan.