State law enforcement officials said Wednesday that any expansion of medical marijuana in Georgia will need extensive regulations to protect patients and to be sure the system isn’t exploited.

GBI Director Vernon Keenan and others said if the state makes marijuana broadly available for medical reasons it should mirror federal pharmaceutical law that requires extensive testing and monitoring of controlled substances.

Keenan and leaders of the state sheriffs’ association told members of a special commission studying the issue that doing otherwise will lead to abuse.

Legalizing marijuana Issue 3 would legalize recreational and medical marijuana in Ohio. Click here for more information about the proposal. And click here for an updated list of supporters and opponents.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state lawmaker leading the charge against Issue 3 said Wednesday the legislature will act on the issue of medical marijuana if the marijuana legalization measure fails on Election Day.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is embracing marijuana reform in a move that could help him win over pot-smoking voters. The Vermont senator said Wednesday he would call for marijuana to be removed from the Drug Enforcement Administration's schedule of controlled substances.

A federal policy shift would allow states to choose their own marijuana policies free of most federal interference. The DEA classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug on the asumption that it has a high potential for abuse. It's regulated more tightly than other drugs that do much more harm, including cocaine, opium and methamphetamines.

DOES POPULARITY AND APPROVAL DETERMINE WHAT IS BEST? USUALLY NOT. CASE IN POINT: CANNABIS IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN ALCOHOL.

ALTHOUGH MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ARE REPORTED TO BE IN FAVOR OF “MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION”, WHEN IT COMES TO ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL RATES, ALCOHOL ALWAYS TAKES THE CAKE.

In 2013, 86.8 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 70.7 percent reported that they drank in the past year; 56.4 percent reported that they drank in the past month. These numbers are staggering compared to the number of Americans who report using cannabis.

I’m not sure who decided to stage a Republican presidential debate in the liberal bastion of Boulder, Colorado, and whether it’s an amusing coincidence or subtle trolling. Many local residents are, as the New York Times recently noticed, slightly puzzled and none too pleased about the influx of national Republicans. As a former Boulderite, I can report that a big reason for their discontent is the traditional Republican attitude toward marijuana: This is the party, after all, that christened “Just Say No” and launched the War on Drugs. 

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York state will require physicians to complete an educational course before they can authorize medical marijuana for patients - a condition generally not applied to new drugs or seen in other states with existing medical pot programs.

The 4.5 hour online training course will cost doctors $250.

Officials say training will help physicians understand the drug when the state’s medical marijuana program begins in January. But some patient advocates say the inconvenience could discourage physicians from participating, ultimately limiting patient access.

A new report published on PubMed.gov demonstrates that cannabinoids from the marijuana plant could provide a new choice of treatment for those suffering from one of today’s deadlier forms of liver cancer.

HCC – also known as Hepatocellular Carcinoma – is one of the most common forms of liver cancer affecting men over the age of 50. Long considered to be one of the more lethal cancer-related illnesses, HCC accounts for roughly 75% of all liver cancers.

Take a close look at your cannabis buds. They’re covered in a sticky dusting of crystal resin, which contains hundreds of therapeutic compounds known as cannabinoids and terpenoids. We assume you’re well acquainted with THC and CBD, but these are just two among many important players working together to produce specific effects.

National data from 2013 show that 70 percent of 10th graders and 81 percent of 12th graders say it would be fairly easy or very easy to obtain marijuana.

SPH study: more time needed to see if rates rise

Since 1996, when California became the first US state to legalize marijuana for medical use, concerns about a possible spike in the number of adolescents using the drug have arisen. Today, 23 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form—five of them, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and DC, effectively permit recreational use by adults 21 and older.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Now that New York has legalized medical marijuana, many advocates are pushing for decriminalizing the drug entirely.

Such was the top of a public hearing Wednesday at Buffalo City Hall.

Downstate Senator Liz Kreuger and Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes have introduced the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which would legalize the drug for people over the age of 21.

They say the cost of criminalization of the drug is too great compared to the benefits.