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In a recent Open Neurology Journal article, four University of California at San Diego researchers review the evidence concerning marijuana's medical utility and conclude that its continued classification as a Schedule I drug is "not tenable." But the DEA's classification of marijuana has been destroyed many times in the past. Twenty-four years ago, an administrative law judge, responding to a legal challenge initiated in 1972, recommended that marijuana be taken off Schedule I, calling it "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."

Economy of Medical Marijuana

Did you know that the United States government provides medicinal pot to only four citizens? Marijuana legalization measures have been appearing frequently in petitions and on ballots across the country and the world, but opinions vary. Currently 16 states and Washington D.C. have made medical marijuana available to certain patients. Learn about the medical marijuana market and where it might be heading.

Like some cancer patients in states where it’s allowed, Mykayla Comstock uses cannabis as part of her treatment. Comstock is seven-years old. Her mother, a long time advocate for medical use of the illegal drug, has been giving her a gram of oral cannabis oil every day. Despite the fact that medical marijuana is legal in Oregon, where Comstock lives, the idea of giving it to a child still gives pause to many adults who associate the drug with recreational use that breaks the law.

8.7%: The drop in traffic fatalities in states with medical marijuana laws. Want to make the road safer? Encourage drivers to hit the bong rather than hit the bars. That is a policy prescription that few people would recommend but it is effectively the course that states which have enacted medical marijuana laws have followed, according to an economic study.

The last decade and a half have been good to marijuana (or kind to bud, if you go for that kind of joke). More and more states have passed medical marijuana laws since California blazed the path way back in 1996, and just last year, Colorado became the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. That was a dream come true for both proponents of legalization at the federal level and the long-suffering residents of Colorado, who have absolutely nothing else to do but smoke pot...

As the medical marijuana industry became more legitimate and businesses had the opportunity to profit, the number of MMCs in the state grew from under 50 to more than 1,000. With over 300 in Denver alone, there are more MMCs than Starbucks locations. "The medical marijuana program has generated an incredible amount of government revenue at a time when our state and localities are broke. It's brought in an incredible amount of sales tax and income tax. Vacant lots have been finding businesses," says Mike Elliott, the executive director of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group.

Patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it's legal, according to new federal guidelines.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/24/new-guidance-va-allow-medical-marij...

The Los Angeles City Council decided unanimously on Tuesday to ban all storefront medical marijuana shops, in a blow to a industry that operates in violation of federal law but has become the largest collection of pot dispensaries in California. The 14-0 vote by the council comes after conflicting court decisions on how far local jurisdictions in California can go in cracking down on the cannabis shops. Some observers say the issue could end up before the state's Supreme Court.

More than 400 dispensaries are under orders to close in accordance with the city's news medical marijuana ordinance. Eventually, the city hopes to whittle the number of pot shops down to 70 and to limit outlets to industrial areas.