Two recent studies documenting the effects ofcannabis use on the brain did not do much for the many questions that remain about the safety and long-term implications of using marijuana.

Published in JAMA Psychiatry, the studies explored cannabis' effect on subcortical brain structure and brain maturation in adolescence in relation to risk of schizophrenia.

As more candidates announce their campaigns for the 2016 presidency, we couldn't help but wonder what each politician's presidency would mean for the state of cannabis in the U.S. Some candidates have openly shared their thoughts on cannabis while others are a little more shifty. For example, we know what Bernie Sanders would do for America if he became President – he emphasizes end the War on Drugs, decriminalizing cannabis nationwide, and helping reduce the prison population. Other candidates, like& Chris Christie, for example,would crack down on cannabis and even go as far as enforcing federal law in states with legal medical marijuana or recreational programs.

The Food Processor Question: Is Marijuana a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) Food Additive?

The 2016 presidential field could be the most doped-up in history.

The Marijuana Policy Project said Wednesday that eight of the 23 major presidential candidates have either admitted or strongly suggested to having tried marijuana at some point in their lives: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Sen. Ted Cruz, former New York Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Bernard Sanders and former Sen. Rick Santorum.

Just six have said they never used it at all: former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, businessman Donald Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Chief Cannabis Correspondent Ryan Nerz interviews Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and the author of Marihuana Reconsidered. Grinspoon has written an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, advising him to consider allowing cannabis as a treatment for post-concussion syndrome.

Professor Grinspoon claims that CBD-heavy strains of marijuana serve as a powerful neuroprotectant, effectively helping the brain heal from concussions.

A new study published online yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine has found states that have legalized medical cannabis have seen a drastic reduction of opioid overdose mortality rates.

Researchers from the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the University of Pennsylvania, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the prescription painkiller overdose death rates of all 50 states between 1999 and 2010, using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State gives medical cannabis producers permission to expand operations but still keeps records secret 

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) announced today the registration of its first medical cannabis dispensary.

Harbory, located at 8195 Express Drive in Marion, IL, successfully completed the DFPR business dispensary registration process and inspection and is now licensed to operate as a medical cannabis dispensary. Under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, the State of Illinois requires medical cannabis dispensing organizations to be registered with DFPR to acquire medical cannabis from a registered cultivation center for the purpose of dispensing cannabis, paraphernalia, or related supplies and educational materials to registered qualifying patients.

New research conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), Toronto, reports that men who are prescribed opioid medications for chronic noncancer pain are twice as likely to escalate their dosage and to die as a result than are female patients. The study found that 1 in 45 men amplified their prescribed dosage to more than 200 mg of morphine or equivalent, compared to 1 in 70 women. This escalation was found in increase the risk of death by a factor of 24 times. The study appears in the journal PLOS ONE. Senior author David Juurlink, MD, PhD, FRCPC, termed the effort the first large-scale study to specify the likelihood of death from chronic opioid therapy.