Some people are asking if President Obama will reschedule marijuana before he leaves office, and whether the marijuana reform movement should make rescheduling a major priority.

Although rescheduling would be huge politically – the federal government finally admitting marijuana has medical value – rescheduling wouldn’t actually help patients in the short term, and might do more harm than good if it distracts from real reform.

Marijuana is currently in Schedule I, the classification for drugs that are supposedly highly addictive and have no medical value. While marijuana certainly does not belong in this category, simply rescheduling it would not make it available for medical use.

At least four Western New York groups are seeking permission to grow, process and dispense medical marijuana in New York State.

They include a pair of Cheektowaga eye surgeons, an Amherst dentist, a Niagara County tomato grower and a medical entrepreneur who has partnered with the founder of the Tanning Bed chain.

They’re among the 100 to 350 groups, if not more, expected to apply for the right to become medical marijuana providers, according to those who follow the industry. They face a Friday deadline to submit applications to the state Department of Health.

Daniel J. Humiston, founder of Tanning Bed, said the group he helped form, Alternative Medicine Associates, on Tuesday turned in “thousands and thousands” of pages in 10 banker boxes.

Access to medical marijuana may soon become a reality in the Louisiana.

The State House of Representatives approved the Senate Bill 143 with a 70-29 vote Thursday. The bill will now head to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk. Jindal has said he plans to sign it into law.

The law would allow The Department of Agriculture and Forestry to issue a special license for the production of medical marijuana at one geographic location. Patients with  cancer, glaucoma and severe cerebral palsy are eligible for the prescription.

The debate on the House floor lasted nearly five hours and got a little heated as state Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Livingston, took the stage.

A Long Island company vying for a state license to distribute medical marijuana has leased space in Downtown Brooklyn, Crain's first reported Thursday.

PalliaTech Inc., a producer of marijuana-based pain medications, is looking to move into the second floor of 425 Fulton St., between Pearl and Jay Streets, where it will take up 3,000 square feet of space.

A new lawsuit has been filed against the NFL by a coalition of several hundred former players. The players presenting the lawsuit are alleging that all 32 professional NFL teams, from coaches to medical staff, illegally obtained and administered pharmaceutical pain pills to players to keep them on the field when they are seriously hurt.

House lawmakers in the nation’s capital approved multiple pro-marijuana amendments in what was referred to as a “marijuana vote-a-rama” Wednesday, as a new Department of Justice (DOJ) budget was voted on.

The DOJ’s budget, included in the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016, dictates how the agency can administer federal funding, including in the realm of marijuana enforcement. Included among appropriations amendments were several marijuana-related proposals staying the agency’s hand in policing marijuana laws in states where it is legal––three of them were approved.

California’s latest attempt to regulate medical marijuana advanced off the Assembly floor on a 50-5 vote Thursday.

The state’s cannabis industry has exploded since California legalized medical pot in 1996, but annual attempts to impose statewide controls on the the cannabis marketplace have collapsed, often with law enforcement groups working to defeat the measures. Lawmakers trying again this year are emboldened by the likelihood that voters will be asked in 2016 whether to legalize recreational pot.

The health food industry could be the perfect segue for cannabis to enter the mainstream. Sprouted hempseeds have high levels of non-psychoactive cannabinoids and are tasty sprinkled on sandwiches or salads. Balms and lotions provide relief for sore muscles, and now juice enthusiasts are experimenting with cannabis leaves.

Juicing works best with young leaves that have been cut before the plant buds. Unlike most edibles, it will not get you high so you can use it during the day and still be functional.

Just in case anyone was unclear that the federal government is on the wrong side of the fence concerning cannabis, the Department of National Intelligence recently issued a statement reminding all federal employees that at no time and under no circumstances are they allowed to use cannabis, even if they are residents of states that have legalized recreational cannabis or if they are authorized medical marijuana patients.