Hemp could be the crop of the future for Taranaki according to a study at Massey University. 

Results of a one-year study on the benefits of growing industrial hemp in the region were released at a presentation at the TSB Showplace in New Plymouth on December 11.

One aspect of the study focused on whether hemp would be a suitable crop to grow on landfarmed soil, while another study looked at the economic benefits and logistics of growing hemp in Taranaki. 

A MOTHER who legally treats her daughter’s seizures with cannabis oil has admitted she is also using the drug to treat her six-year-old son’s ADHD.

Cherie and Trevor Dell had already been using medicinal cannabis oil to help treat their three-year-old daughter Abbey, who suffers a rare genetic disorder known as CDKL5, which ­results in constant violent ­seizures.

But their decision to also use it on their son Wyatt, 6, could see them fall foul of the authorities.

Wyatt has both autism and attention deficient hyperactivity disorder, which has left him prone to violence.

He has thrown tables around his grade one classroom and made life a misery for his five brothers and sisters.

IF you're expecting medical marijuana to be a panacea you may be disappointed.

But a review of nearly 80 clinical trials found there was some evidence cannabinoids, one of the active constituents of cannabis, can help patients deal with nausea and vomiting.

The drug can also help in the reduction of pain.

Some patients reported increased adverse affects including dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, fatigue, somnolence, euphoria, vomiting, disorientation, drowsiness, confusion, loss of balance, and hallucination.

A Queensland MP wants part of his far north electorate to become the state's cannabis capital.

Shane Knuth, MP of Dalrymple, thinks the fertile soil and annual rainfalls of the Atherton Tablelands, near Cairns, would be perfect for growing medicinal marijuana.

Knuth, from the Katter's Australia Party, says farmers in his electorate would be enthusiastic about the opportunity to grow the crops.

"I have been approached by farmers in my electorate who ... would embrace the opportunity to work with the government as growers of this new emerging medical crop," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Knuth has been Dalrymple MP since 2009.

Southland youth substance abuse problem is on par with the rest of the country but figures are trending down, a New Zealand Drug Foundation expert says.

National Youth Services advisor Ben Birks Ang, of Auckland, was in Invercargill on Monday running a seminar at the Lindisfarne Methodist Community Centre about how to reduce substance abuse in young people.

"Southland is similar to the rest of the country. Substance abuse is trending down," he said.

"But we need to work as a community to make changes."

The most common substances used were alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana, while less than 3 per cent of young people uwere sing harder substances, he said.

We're still just beginning to understand why some people become dependent on marijuana but others don't. Your genes could have a lot to do with it, a new study suggests.

For the first part of the study, published online today in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, researchers looked at genetic data from 1,558 Australians who reported both marijuana use and childhood sexual abuse. 

A TABLELANDS pharmacy is preparing to become one of the first medical marijuana ­dispensaries in Queensland should the drug be legalised in Australia.

Yungaburra Pharmacy co-owner Mark Hope has spent thousands of dollars on buying online domain names such as medicalweed.com.au and meed.com.au to start selling the herb should it be decriminalised for use by the terminally ill, chronic pain sufferers and those with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Queensland is partnering with New South Wales to start trials with the drug next year, with Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley suggesting a medical marijuana industry could flourish in Australia.

Up to 100 West Australian parents are illegally using cannabis to treat children living with epilepsy, the chief executive of an epilepsy organisation says.

Epilepsy Association of WA (EAWA) chief executive Suresh Rajan said medicinal marijuana was being used extensively on WA children.

"I would have anything up to 80 to 100 mums that I know of in Western Australia who use it [on their children]. Illegally, I will emphasise, because it is not legal yet in Western Australia," he said.

Campaigners said there was evidence that cannabidiol, one of the compounds in marijuana, can stop seizures and boost the quality of life of those with epilepsy.

You are being offered the wrong referendum. The matter to be decided should not be the design of a flag on which 6000 people have made submissions, but the status of a law which 400,000 people feel inclined to break each year.

The question of whether crime should be reduced, taxes collected and liberty increased on par with comparable risks, has been the subject of referendums in Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska. It is likely California, Arizona, Maine and Massachusetts will also in the near future legalise the recreational use of marijuana.

The current position in New Zealand is that marijuana should be prohibited as the risks are too high to allow the public to have regularised access to it. The evidence shows that the risks are real.

Thousands of dollars belonging to a charity advocating for medicinal cannabis has been returned after a bank stonewalled its moves to open an account.

United In Compassion (UIC) is a non-profit group advocating for New Zealand-based research into the therapeutic effects of cannabis-based medicines.

Kiwibank was the third bank that UIC, which has been trying to set up an account in the lead-up to a national symposium in April, has hit hurdles with.

On Wednesday afternoon Kiwibank agreed to release the money immediately but won't open an account for the group until compliance issues are sorted.

UIC co-founder Toni-Marie Matich approached Kiwibank for help in June and close to $5000 has been sitting in the account for the last month.