Medical marijuana advocates in Maine are trying to spread the word about a recent study indicating the drug may slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The Gelassen family of Portland says it works.

Allen Gelassen is a pretty happy guy despite living with Alzheimer’s.

“I always have a problem (remembering) day-to-day,”said Gelassen, “But distance, some of it I can, some of it I can’t.”

The diagnosis came a few months ago, after the stroke that left him in a wheelchair. And with it, prescription painkillers; something that impacted his kids’ lives too.

“Groggy, depressed,” said his son, Benjamin Gelassen, “Which put that energy onto me.”

12 January, 2015

A survey about using marijuana-based treatments appears to have split opinions between people with epilepsy and the doctors who treat them. Specialists warn there is not yet enough evidence to support their use

The survey findings were presented in the medical journal Epilepsia. Researchers conducted the survey online between 20 May 2014 and 1 September. It was open to anyone – researchers, medical professionals, patients and their families.

The first legal cannabis e-cigarette could soon be landing on British soil. And when we say soon, we mean next Thursday - or so say the Metro.

The company behind the cannabis e-cigarette, KanaVape, claims that the vaporiser is perfectly legal due to the lack of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which is a chemical found in the drug.

THC is known for its mind-altering effects and can induce hallucinations and a change in thinking, as well as cause delusions.

A new treatment derived from cannabis is to go on trial in Scotland in a bid to help sick children.

Doctors have been given the go-ahead to test Epidiolex, a treatment based on cannabidiol (CBD) a non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant.

And medical experts are hoping the treatment – which has had success in studies on the treatment of epilepsy in the US – will help Scottish children whose seizures cannot be controlled with existing medications.

‘Many children with serious forms of epilepsy do not respond to the medications that we currently have available,’ said Dr Richard Chin, director of the Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre.

Only 21 out of a possible 650 MPs turned up to a Parliamentary debate to discuss UK drugs policy following a report suggesting there is no link between tough laws and levels of illegal substance abuse.

The groundbreaking Home Office report, the first time ever the government has highlighted the potential benefits of decriminalising drugs, said there is "no obvious relationship" between imposing penalties for drug taking and levels of drug use after examining polices in other countries.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has launched yet another propaganda campaign against people who grow cannabis. As usual this consists of fact free scaremongering and a complete distortion of the facts and evidence about the possible harms. Once again, Detective Chief Superintendent Bill Jephson, National Policing Lead for Cannabis-related Crime, is in charge of delivering a message that seeks to frighten the public with myth, misinformation and manipulation of data.

Home Office minister Norman Baker called last week for medicinal cannabis to be legalised. This is the inside story of a campaign that began in 1999, started to gain real traction in 2011 and may finally come to fruition in 2014.

The last British politician to have the courage to follow the evidence on drugs policy and introduce radical reform was Margaret Thatcher. Now Norman Baker isn't normally in the same category as Thatcher but they have both demonstrated courage in the face of opposition from their colleagues and widespread bigotry and ignorance throughout parliament and Whitehall.