WASHINGTON – The only marijuana available for research in the U.S. is locked down by federal regulators who are more focused on studies to keep people off the drug than helping researchers learn how it might be beneficial.

Marijuana is a trend that “will peak like tobacco, then people will see their error,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which serves as the gatekeeper for U.S. marijuana research through its oversight of a pot farm that grows the only plants that can be used in clinical trials.

Marijuana advocates say NIDA’s control over research has restricted their ability to test the drug against ailments such as pain, cancer-related nausea and epilepsy.

The recent shift in public opinion about marijuana has propelled a historic heave against the research blockade.

In spite of decades of politicization and prohibition, cannabis science is beginning to experience a rebirth—so much so that it was the topic of National Geographic’s most recent cover feature.

“We’re finding surprises, and possibly miracles, concealed inside this once forbidden plant,” writes the article’s author, Hampton Sides.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 19, 2015 – Entrepreneur Dan Rocha is a busy man. After 14 years of experience building websites, he has become the go-to guy for marijuana business marketing. Branding, promotional merchandise, package design, websites and social media marketing are just a few areas where Rocha’s expertise has helped cannabis companies grow their online presence and increase their profit.

On Thursday, Delaware's governor signed a bill into law that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. That brings the number of states that have decriminalized small amounts of the drug to 20, according to the Huffington Post. 

Under the new law, marijuana sales are still prohibited, but possession is no longer considered a crime that warrants the intervention of the criminal justice system. Instead, being caught with marijuana is akin to committing a traffic violation, prompting a civil fine of $100.

WATERTOWN — A Brooklyn-based company is hoping to set up a medical marijuana dispensary in Evans Mills.

Sheva Health and Wellness is one of 43 companies vying for a license to grow and dispense medical marijuana in New York.

The dispensary would be located at 26121 Route 11, Evans Mills, according to spokesman Glen Casey.

Joseph Levine, founding member of the company, said the Watertown area was a good fit due to its location in the state and for its thousands of nearby veterans linked to Fort Drum.

“As NY expands its list of medical conditions to perhaps include PTSD, SHW will be prepared to service this population,” he said, in a statement.

I have been closely following all of the articles about legalization of marijuana and how the group, ResponsibleOhio, was started. I have only read one letter to the editor from a concerned Ohio resident about the increased probability of mental illness developing among users.According to the National Institutes of Health, "Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide, with approximately 5 millions of daily users worldwide.

Emerging evidence supports a number of associations between cannabis and psychosis/psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia."A program from National Geographic stated an actual percentage of those who will experience psychosis: 50 percent of all marijuana users will experience psychosis.

After more than a decade of study, researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital are close to developing a new class of non-narcotic drugs that relieve chronic nerve pain by targeting a protein that enhances pain and inflammation.

Their findings, reported in the journal Neuron, could lead to new treatments for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, and inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Current treatments provide meaningful pain relief in only about 15 percent of patients.

As police combat an epidemic of heroin overdoses, fewer people are landing in jail in Pennsylvania for possessing marijuana, a reflection of a change in battle tactics and attitudes about the drug, experts say.

“The nation is clearly taking a long, hard look at this. … There's blowback on the war on drugs,” said Tony Gaskew, a former drug agent and director of the University of Pittsburgh's criminal justice program. “Is it cost effective? We cannot arrest every person that wants to get high.”

Criminals, it's not a good idea to take out ads revealing possible criminal activity.

A man from Miami-Dade County was arrested Tuesday after he was caught advertising “top shelf” marijuana on Craigslist, KeysInfoNet reports.

David Ramos Stringer

Marijuana

Undercover deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office replied to the ad and Ramses Silva, 23, said he had “fire” for sale at $320 an ounce, according to KeysInfoNet. Fire is street slang for high-quality marijuana.  

To say that marijuana has a plethora of hurdles to overcome might be an understatement. Just because the American public's opinion of marijuana has made an about-face from where it stood 10 years ago doesn't mean marijuana's path toward a potential federal approval or decriminalization has been made any easier.

Marijuana's many challenges
For starters, researchers have decades' worth of studies focused on the dangers of marijuana to sift through with a corresponding snippet of data concerning the benefits of marijuana use. Although new trials are under way examining marijuana's potential benefits, it could be years before the data is given time to mature and researchers (along with lawmakers) feel comfortable making those side-by-side comparisons.