The Waynesboro Area School Board this week finalized a letter of support for a proposed medical marijuana growing and processing facility, saying the district appreciates the economic development that could come with the project in Wharf Road Industrial Park.

The school board noted that it supports the industrial growth, but will not take a position on the potential benefits of marijuana for medical conditions.

A letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Health notes the district receives federal funding for some of its K-12 programs and recognizes that federal law does not legalize medical marijuana.

As Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program continues to take shape, applications for grower/processors and for dispensaries are now available online.

Applications for medical marijuana growers and processors and for dispensaries are now available but a one month window for accepting applications won’t begin until February 20th.

“Through February 8th, potential applicants have the opportunity address questions concerning the application process to the Department,” said John Collins, Director of the Pennsylvania Health Department’s Office of Medical Marijuana. “We’ll be posting responses on the website.”

Counties across Pennsylvania are arresting people for marijuana possession at record levels even as police departments in the Commonwealth’s largest cities are adopting decriminalization procedures.

So why are arrests increasing? To find out, I crunched data, made nice charts, and asked local law enforcement for comment. What I discovered is that police often hope minor pot arrests lead to other, bigger, better crimes or criminals. Police also claim to let a lot of people go for weed, which is also rather difficult to prove.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are trying to keep the bulk of these cases out of criminal courts, but are still throwing the book at some marijuana defendants.

There was little obvious sign of the newest addition to the state's agricultural landscape at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Monday.

While the costs of cultivating medical marijuana make it an unlikely business venture for most farmers, its production is expected to get a lot more notice within the industry.

Pennsylvania became the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana for the treatment of 17 medical conditions last April. The Department of Health has been rolling out regulations, with the goal of having the drug available for patients next year.

The next steps of a burgeoning industry that grows, processes and dispenses the drug will be hard to ignore.

Just over half the states in the union (and the District of Columbia) now have some form of decriminalized cannabis. But for medical marijuana patients living in a state not yet on that list, getting the medicine they need often means crossing state lines in violation of federal law. That’s exactly what one GOP lawmaker did to treat his cancer — and he says he’d do it again.

In 2014, CNN found at least 100 families in Colorado who had essentially “fled” there in order to ensure a regular supply of medical marijuana for a sick family member.

Smoking cannabis has been known to treat certain forms of cancer, but a recent study has found a link between use of the controversial herb and a heart-weakening condition.

Stress cardiomyopathy, popularly known as broken heart syndrome, shows symptoms eerily similar to a heart attack, including chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting.

The effects of the rare illness, which is often caused by the heart’s inability to pump blood, are usually short-lived but could indicate a more serious condition, according to a report by The Telegraph.