SENECA, NY -- There's a push to get the medical marijuana industry up and running on Indian territories. Leaders of the National Tribal Cannabis Association expect to see the industry in full swing on some reservations within the next year.

Former president of the Seneca Nation, Robert Porter, helped organize meetings that about 75 tribal leaders from across the country have attended.

Last week Porter met with tribes within the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan region.

Porter say most tribes are showing interest in the medical marijuana industry and regulations are starting to be drafted.

Porter said, "I don't see many leaders talk about adult recreational use at this time."

Opiate dependence can have severely detrimental effects on normal life and everyday function, and can be extremely difficult to overcome. Cannabis can not only reduce the need to take opiate-based painkillers in the first place, but may also help to alleviate withdrawal symptoms even in existing cases of addiction.

Analgesic

Chronic pain is one of the primary reasons for utilization of opiate painkillers. It is also one of the primary reasons for utilization of medical cannabis: in a patient survey of 350 Michigan-based medical cannabis patients, over 85% of respondents reported that they used cannabis to treat pain.

Medical marijuana user Ginnifer Hency told a group of Michigan lawmakers last week that a drug task force raided her home and kept ‘every belonging’ she owned — including her vibrator — even after a judge dismissed the charges against her.

Forbes contributor Jacob Sullum reported last week that Hency testified before the Michigan state House Judiciary Committee about what happened when her home in Smiths Creek was raided last July.

When the cops raided Ginnifer Hency’s home in Smiths Creek, Michigan, last July, “they took everything,” she told state legislators on Tuesday, including TV sets, ladders, her children’s cellphones and iPads, even her vibrator. They found six ounces of marijuana and arrested Hency for possession with intent to deliver, “even though I was fully compliant with the Michigan medical marijuana laws,” which means “I am allowed to possess and deliver.” Hency, a mother of four with multiple sclerosis, uses marijuana for pain relief based on her neurologist’s recommendation. She also serves as a state-registered caregiver for five other patients.

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (WJBK) -A measure to legalize marijuana is likely to appear on next year's ballot -and not everyone is happy about it.

Petitions to place the issue of legalizing marijuana appears to be headed to the voters.  The first step was officially filed Friday. 

It is a voter initiative, a voter supported law, that supporters believe has many benefits. 

It was one of the topics at the Mackinac Policy Conference.

"It's been decriminalized in most municipalities," said attorney John Pirich. "And this state and virtually all the other states. It is a tremendous amount of revenue and policing that could come with regulation."

And the proposal would mandate State control of recreational pot.

Louisiana may be about to reform its harsh marijuana laws, but not Kansas; a Nebraska CBD cannabis oil bill dies, a Michigan legalization initiative goes back to the drawing board, the Germans and the Israelis grapple with marijuana policy, and more.

Marijuana Policy

The state is holding a public hearing Wednesday on a request to add autism to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana. 

Lisa Smith of Van Buren Township filed the request to add the disorder to the list.

Smith said her autistic son's severe behavior stopped after taking medical marijuana orally to treat a different condition.

Colleen Allen, president of the Autism Alliance of Michigan, said alternative treatments for the disorder require more study.

“We’re not saying they don’t work for some kids," Allen said. "[But] just because it works for one child doesn’t mean it should be recommended for groups of children.”

Allen said her organization relies on treatments that have been vetted on larger groups of children.

LANSING, MI (AP) – Organizers of a marijuana legalization drive in Michigan are poised to clear a procedural step.

The Michigan Cannabis Coalition is expected to receive word from state election officials Tuesday on whether the form of its petition is OK.

The initiated legislation would require 252,000 valid voter signatures before going to the Republican-led Legislature. If lawmakers rejected the bill or took no action, it would receive a statewide vote in November 2016.

The initiative is being supported by anonymous people from the agricultural, real estate, insurance and education sectors. The group says Michigan could add jobs and tax revenue by legalizing and regulating marijuana for recreational purposes.

HealthDay News — Medical marijuana users don't appear to increase their risk for drug or alcohol abuse if they also take prescription pain medications (PPMs), according to research published in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

The study included 273 patients at a medical marijuana clinic in Michigan. More than 60% of them had also used PPMs in the past month.

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP (AP) -- Lisa Smith says her son's behavior was dangerous: hair pulling, kicks, punches, all related to a severe form of autism. But it began to change more than a year ago when he was given daily oral doses of oil extracted from marijuana.

"That's all stopped. He's more focused, he's calmer," Smith said of 6-year-old Noah. "He sleeps better through the night. He has a better appetite. You can tell he's growing, gaining weight."

Noah is registered to use marijuana to control epileptic seizures; the effect on his autism was an unexpected benefit. Based on that success, Smith is asking the state of Michigan to add autism to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana.