Regular low doses of THC dramatically boosted memory and learning in older mice, say scientists, who plan a clinical trial in humans later this year.

Researchers have come up with an unusual proposal to slow, or even reverse, the cognitive decline that comes with old age: small, daily doses of cannabis extract.

The idea emerged from tests on mice which found that regular, low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis – impaired memory and learning in young animals, but boosted the performance of old ones.

The legal-marijuana industry is on one heck of a run. Last year, five states legalized the use of medical cannabis for select ailments, pushing the number of states that have chosen to allow physicians to prescribe cannabis past the halfway mark (28 states). We also witnessed the number of recreational-pot states double to eight from four.

The result has been a steady increase in North American legal weed sales (including Canada, which legalized medical marijuana back in 2001). Cannabis-research firm Arcview estimated a 34% increase in North American legal sales to $6.9 billion last year alone.

Expect legalization to create drastic changes in the way canna workplaces are regulated and product is produced. In the U.S. a legalizing marketplace may mean lower wages, but it will probably mean better working conditions. Across Europe, legalization is being seen as one way to crack down on slave labor as much as standardize product.

As cannabis becomes a legal commodity in both the U.S. and Canada, the production and distribution of the market becomes more structured. This means that the industry can start to produce higher volumes. However, by definition, this also means something else. The specialised workforces that have grown up around the industry are facing massive changes. Automation is making its presence felt.

Some have dubbed it the modern-day gold rush while skeptics warn of the hostile attitude of the current administration in Washington D.C. Whatever the view there is no denying that the marijuana legalization landscape is contentious and demands attention, including from trademark attorneys who will increasingly see their clients interested in cannabis related business activities, and consequently in obtaining cannabis trademarks.

A further person has been granted a licence to use marijuana for medical purposes in Sweden three months after an historic decision from the country's Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket) to allow the first prescriptions of the drug in the country.

The first two Swedish licences to use parts of the cannabis plants to relieve chronic pain were granted last February, and since then there have been ten further applications. One of those has now been approved, newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) reports.

In rap and reggae tunes, the procession, composed of many young people but also of sick people, militant for the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, departed shortly after 15 hours from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Bastille. Republic, behind a banner proclaiming: “Worldwide marijuana cannabis decriminalization self-production cannabis therapeutic. Another drug policy is possible “. This year, the march was advanced to stand between the two rounds of the presidential.

The German government finally passed its legalization framework for medical cannabis consumption in March 2017. The country’s market is expected to record modest growth with its high 82 million population and a policy that allows prescriptions to be paid through health insurance plans, thus potentially encouraging patients to explore medical cannabis health benefits.

Local marijuana producers with vast experience in mass growing of high quality product and hungry to capture the lucrative €12 – €15 a gram (roughly C$17 – C$21.75 per gram) German medical cannabis market, have been taking positions in growing their international business portfolios.

Former Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, has praised "alternative" medicines

Soap fans everywhere were shocked and saddened to learn that ex-Emmerdale actress Leah Bracknell had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Leah, 52, revealed that she had stage 4 lung cancer in October, which doctors described as "incurable and inoperable". But Leah refused to let it get her down, with her partner Jez Hughes then setting up a Go Fund Me page to fund a new type of medicine at a clinic in Germany.

A research initiative hopes to get approval for a study that would recruit 25,000 recreational cannabis consumers in Berlin - if it can get government approval.

The group called the Research Initiative on Cannabis Consumption is hoping to get an application for a new study approved so that they can analyze the “consequences of cannabis for psychologically healthy, adult consumers”. The aim is to understand what effects cannabis use has after several years, according to the group, which was started by a Berlin lawyer and a clinical psychology professor at the Medical School Hamburg.

Germany, the largest country in the European Union started 2017 by legalizing medical cannabis creating a major opportunity for cannabis businesses across the world.

Although Germany began to permit patient access to medical cannabis in 2005, domestic production does not currently exist. Until state-supervised cannabis plantations are set up, the country will continue to rely solely on imported products.