Kosher cannabis: New York medical pot grower says products are certified by the Orthodox Union

BY NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Vireo Health of New York said it will be the first “medical cannabis company in the world” to have the “OU” symbol on its marijuana products.
ERIC RISBERG/AP
“Judaism prioritizes health and encourages the use of medicine designed to improve one’s health or reduce pain,” Rabbi Menachem Genack said. “Using medical cannabis products recommended by a physician should not be regarded as a chet, a sinful act, but rather as a mitzvah, an imperative, a commandment.”
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Here’s How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Year

 
With marijuana now legal in some form throughout 23 states, the number of Americans who fatally overdosed on the drug last year was significant:
zero animated GIF
 
The rate of absolutely zero deaths from a marijuana overdose remained steady from last year, according to figures released this month by the Centers for Disease Control. But while Americans aren’t dying as a result of marijuana overdoses, the same can’t be said for a range of other substances, both legal and illicit.
 
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_56816417e4b06fa68880a217

Justice Department Shuts Down Major Property Seizure Program

By Ben Adlin

 
Threatening to seize property has been one of the most effective tools federal prosecutors have used in their stop-and-go efforts to close cannabis businesses across the country. When U.S. attorneys shuttered hundreds of dispensaries and growers across California a few years ago, it was a tactic deployed across the state.

This week the Justice Department announced it would shut down one of the most controversial pieces of its asset forfeiture operations. Under the “equitable sharing” program, a big chunk of what federal prosecutors seize can be funneled to local law enforcement agencies. That practice is over — at least for now.
Full Article:

 
 

Glaucoma patients need to smoke more pot – “Researchers note that while marijuana can relieve the effects of glaucoma for three or four hours, patients would need to be dosed eight to ten times per day for a “sustained therapeutic effect.”

By Stephen Feller

Researchers say many patients have inaccurate expectations or knowledge about marijuana’s effects on glaucoma. Photo by Atomazul/Shutterstock.
Researchers note that while marijuana can relieve the effects of glaucoma for three or four hours, patients would need to be dosed eight to ten times per day for a “sustained therapeutic effect.”
 

Full Article:
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/12/24/Study-Glaucoma-patients-need-better-education-on-marijuana/2061450962234/

 

The Ghosts of the NFL


RETIRED / NFL DEFENSIVE LINEMAN
 
The new “Concussion” movie starring Will Smith will have everyone talking about concussions and the NFL – did you know a compound in marijuana called cannabidiol (CBD) has shown scientific potential to be an antioxidant and neuroprotectant for the brain? Former New York Jet Marvin Washington talks about concussions, CTE and marijuana research in The Players’ Tribune, and why the NFL should be looking at marijuana as a potential treatment.
 
Full Article:
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/marvin-washington-nfl-concussions/

Medical marijuana gains ground globally


 
Colombia became on Tuesday the latest in a growing number of nations around the world to legalise the use of cannabis for medical reasons.
However the rules vary widely across continents, with some countries permitting cannabis cultivation and others only allowing pharmaceuticals extracted from the drug.
 
Full Article:
http://www.wort.lu/en/lifestyle/status-around-the-world-medical-marijuana-gains-ground-globally-567aedd40da165c55dc50075

The New Green Building Trend is Bricks of Cannabis. Really.

@bradrtuttle
Rainer Nowotny, managing director of the company Hemp fibre Uckermark eG, presents bricks made of clay and hemp in Prenzlau, Germany, July 24, 2013.
Hemp, which can be mixed with lime and water to make “hempcrete” blocks, has been used for decades as a building material in Europe.
 
Builders are using cannabis “not in joints but between joists.”
The jokes about homes “going up in smoke” are inevitable.
But the truth is that one of the reasons the cannabis-based building material called hempcrete is gaining acceptance in home construction is that it’s entirely fireproof. As a recent New York Times story reported, hempcrete has been used as a building material in Europe for decades, and lately it’s been incorporated in more homes and offices in the U.S. A small group of hemp entrepreneurs envisions a time very soon when hempcrete will be totally mainstream.
Hempcrete is made with the wood-like interior part of a Cannabis plant, which resemble the look and feel of balsa chips. They’re combined with lime and water, and the resulting material is a block that provides terrific natural insulation, while still being flexible, breathable, and, as mentioned already, fireproof.
 
Full Article:
http://time.com/money/3949418/cannabis-hempcrete-building-material/

Two Floridians get free marijuana for life — from the feds

By: Craig Patrick, FOX 13 News

 
You know the federal government bans marijuana, and that a medical marijuana referendum in Florida failed last year. But you may not know that the U.S. government still provides marijuana to people in Florida.
It all started in with a man named Bob Randall, who successfully argued for medical marijuana in court and received it as part of a legal settlement.
In 1978, the United States started the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program. It provides medicinal marijuana to people with serious health problems for life.

Cannabis opponents take a hit as top ethicist calls for legalization – Asa Kasher tells Knesset committee that Israel should ease red-tape on medical marijuana, allow regulated recreational use

Raoul Wootliff
Portrait of Professor Asa Kasher, in 2014. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

Portrait of Professor Asa Kasher, in 2014. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)
Israel’s preeminent expert on ethics and philosphy voiced support Tuesday for easing limits on the use of medical marijuana and — with appropriate regulation — legalizing the drug for recreational use.
Speaking to the Knesset Committee on Controlled Substances, Professor Asa Kasher said restrictions on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes went against the principles of medical ethics, and argued doctors should be given the freedom to prescribe the pain relieving drug even if other options have not been explored.
 

Full Article:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/cannabis-opponents-take-a-hit-as-top-ethicist-calls-for-legalization/

Chicago celebrity chef to make marijuana sweets

Associated Press
Mindy Segal

When Mindy Segal decided she wanted to work with marijuana, the James Beard award-winning pastry chef knew she could do so much better than that tired cliche — the brownie.
Instead, she’ll tap her understanding of transforming sugar into tempting treats to launch a line of chocolate brittles, granola bites, eventually even a hot chocolate — and all of them laced with butter infused with cannabis oil. In the process, she’ll become one of the first celebrity chefs to lend her name and brand to the budding edible marijuana industry.

http://www.thonline.com/news/iowa-illinois-wisconsin/article_474c23dc-a8d7-11e5-bba0-17318c909c50.html