legal

A Gooding, Idaho, mom lost custody of her children and is facing charges after treating her daughter’s seizures with marijuana butter. [1]
Three-year-old Madyson began suffering seizures and hallucinations in early October after coming off of the prescription anti-psychotic drug Risperdal, which was being used to treat a history of seizures.
Madyson’s mom, Kelsey Osborne, explained:

“They [the seizures] would stop and come back, stop and come back with the hallucinations and everything else.” [2]

The World Medical Association (WMA), the top medical-ethics body, has appointed Dr. Ketan Desai, an Indian doctor facing corruption charges, as its president.
The France-based association sets ethical standards for physicians worldwide and represents millions of doctors. Its members include the American Medical Association (AMA) and the British Medical Association (BMA).
In his speech, Desai warned against “unqualified people indulging in professional medical practice causing endless harm to society.” [2]

A new study shows that the number of college students who use pot continues to rise, but they’re more often rejecting other, harder drugs, including amphetamines and opioids. [1]

A woman in the United Kingdom has just been granted permission to give birth to her dead daughter’s baby, using her frozen eggs. Permission was granted after a 5-year legal struggle, and was finally allowed citing “exceptional circumstances.” The woman’s daughter died of bowel cancer at age 29, 6 years ago.
The legal struggle came because the mother claims her daughter had given her verbal permission to use her eggs, but the daughter’s wishes were never written out physically, making it a tough call for the court system.

Police in East New York recently busted a man for growing marijuana, but not just a few plants. While this may be standard fare for many cops, these police were shocked by the size of the ganja plants. The suspect had been nurturing over 80 pot plants, some that were over 8 feet tall.

More people in the United States are using marijuana, a new study in The Lancet Psychiatry shows, amid legalization efforts and shifting attitudes about marijuana.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has recently stated that the herbal supplement kratom will be taken off of the market. It’s being taken off because the organization now classifies 2 of its major ingredients as Schedule I substances, so now the supplement is bunched with harder drugs like ecstasy, heroin, and LSD. And although this move is welcome by some, many are furious over the decision, claiming that kratom has actually saved their lives. [1]

Just recently, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it would not reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II drug. However, the agency said it would try to make it easier for scientists and companies to access marijuana for research.

Right now, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, right alongside heroin, LSD, peyote, and ecstasy. That’s more than a little ridiculous, considering Schedule I drugs are classified as such because they have “no medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
We know that marijuana does, in fact, have numerous medical uses.

For more than a year, Minnesota residents with a few serious medical conditions have been able to legally purchase medical marijuana. But now, as of August 1, nearly 500 registered patients with intractable pain will finally have access to it, too.
On July 29, state health officials said that 481 patients with severe pain had pre-registered through their doctors to obtain medical marijuana. Under state law, intractable pain is defined as pain that can’t be treated with traditional drugs or therapies. [1]