Willie Best did some crazy stuff in his life, before being sentenced to nearly a decade in federal prison. The jury that convicted him in 2008 heard that the D.C. drug dealer was found by cops in a stolen car clutching an assault rifle, after taking a potshot at a nemesis.

But Mr. Best is joining some 6,000 federal prisoners whose sentences are being cut short under new federal sentencing guidelines and whose release will be soon. Best told the Associated Press that he’s a new man: “I came in one way. I’m coming out another.”

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Medical marijuanaappears mostly safe for treating chronic pain, at least among people with some experience using the drug, a new study suggests.

People who used pot to ease their pain didn't have an increased risk of serious side effects, compared to people with pain who didn't usemarijuana, a Canadian research team found.

If Maine votes to legalize marijuana, even if only for adults, the biggest problem is that more teenagers will use it. We know this because that’s what happened when laws were loosened to allow medical marijuana.

BERLIN - Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices rejected an application on Monday by a Berlin district to legalize the sale of hashish and marijuana.

Monika Herrmann, the major of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, had hoped to get approval for the sale of the drugs to registered adults in four shops in the district. But the institute nixed the proposal citing narcotics regulations banning the sale of the drugs except for very few medically justified cases.

The district has one month to appeal the decision.   

A nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research on cannabis plans to build a $24 million medical-marijuana-research facility at a proposed Licking County grow site if voters approve ResponsibleOhio’s marijuana-legalization amendment this fall.

Work at International Cannabinoid Institute Research Foundation will focus on marijuana-centered therapies for certain medical conditions, such as childhood epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

The nonprofit group would lease 15 acres from the property owner of the Licking County site, located in Pataskala, for the 40,000-square foot facility, the group announced on Tuesday at a news conference outside the Statehouse.

Once upon a time there was a pretty girl and a funny boy who fell in love. Like every young couple, they dreamt about making a big wedding party to celebrate their union. Church, bride dress, cake, dance floor and everything else that they could ask for. But there was something a bit weird in their dream… Instead of a regular bar, they wish to have a cannabar to give their guests some fun.

And so their wish came true…

No, this is not a children’s story, but could easily be a modern fairytale.

Brides and grooms, even ones who say they don’t partake often but want to be hospitable, are giving guests choices that are much different than the standard merlot or chardonnay. Now, the choice could be Tangerine Haze or Grape Ape.

Recreational marijuana has been legal throughout Oregon for a few months now. While residents could use it, purchasing from a store hasn’t been possible.

That’s because retail sales of recreational cannabis have remained illegal. That ends Thursday, when the state will begin allowing recreational sales at medical marijuana dispensaries.

According to the OLCC, the state currently projects $10.7 million in revenue for the 2015-2017 biennium.

Here’s everything you need to know about purchasing pot for recreational use in Oregon.

The state of Colorado has proposed rules that would reduce the number of allowable pesticides used on marijuana from 200 to about 75. Those to be permitted are the least harmful and already allowed by federal regulators for use on food and tobacco crops.

The proposal was issued last week, according to the Denver Post, and limits pesticide use on pot to chemicals considered nontoxic or safe enough that they do not need to be tested or registered with the federal government -- which still considers pot an illegal drug.

Boston sportscasting icon Bob Lobel is one of the hundreds of patients in Massachusetts who say they have found an effective substitute for opioids by using medicinal marijuana.

The 71-year-old longtime television reporter and anchor has dealt with chronic pain for years, the result of numerous surgeries: He’s had two knee replacements, two rotator cuff surgeries, four back surgeries and, in separate accidents, fractured the tops of both femurs.

“That was brutal,” Lobel told the Herald, referencing the femur breaks. The constant pain left him taking a variety of opioids.

The vast majority of medical-marijuana certificates in Massachusetts -- more than 90 percent -- were issued to patients who have not been diagnosed with one of the eight pre-qualifying conditions established under state law, according to new data from the Department of Public Health.