The Ohio House Medical Marijuana Task Force will conduct its final hearing on the legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio on Thursday. The hearing will begin at 3pm at the Ohio Statehouse.

The Task Force was convened in late January for the purpose of studying the legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio by hearing live testimony from a cross spectrum of witnesses both for and against legalization. The 15-member Task Force has conducted six hearings so far. Task Force members come from a number of disciplines ranging from medical groups, to police associations and trade councils.

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Whoopi Goldberg has had it with cramps and had it with stoner jokes, and now she’s doing something about both.

Goldberg announced Wednesday that she’s launching a medical-marijuana company with Maya Elisabeth, one of the leading “canna-businesswomen” in the field, with a line of products designed to provide relief from menstrual cramps.

The company, Maya & Whoopi, will offer cannabis edibles, tinctures, topical rubs, and a THC-infused bath soak that it describes as “profoundly relaxing.” Frankly that last one, even though your humble reporter is a man, sounds incredible.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, The View co-host said she wanted to create a product for women that was discreet, provided relief, and wouldn’t leave you glued to your couch. 

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Photo by: Frederick M. Brown

Already a pioneer in high-tech and cutting-edge agriculture, Israel is starting to attract American companies looking to bring medical marijuana know-how to a booming market back home.

Since 2014, U.S. firms have invested about $50 million in licensing Israeli medical marijuana patents, cannabis agro-tech startups and firms developing delivery devices such as inhalers, said Saul Kaye, CEO of iCAN, a private cannabis research hub.

"I expect it to grow to $100 million in the coming year," Kaye said at iCAN's CannaTech conference in Tel Aviv this month, one of the largest gatherings of medical marijuana experts.

Scientists say strict rules, some set by the Drug Enforcement Administration, limit cannabis studies in the United States, where the legal marijuana market is valued at $5.7 billion and expected to grow to $23 billion by 2020.

"In the United States it's easier to study heroin than marijuana," said U.S. psychiatrist Suzanne Sisley, who has researched the effects of cannabis as a treatment for American military veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

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Employers are sounding the alarm about a proposed November state ballot question that calls for legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, coming out heavily against it in a newly released survey.

Of 180 Bay State employers who responded to the survey question posed by Associated Industries of Massachusetts — the state’s largest employer group — 62 percent opposed the ballot measure. Thirty-eight percent said they’re in favor.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s referendum will be on the Nov. 1 statewide ballot and is widely expected to pass — prompting the state Senate to prepare to draft regulations in advance. The measure would legalize marijuana for adults 21 years and older, and license, regulate and tax its production and distribution in a manner similar to alcohol.

“There are real practical business management issues and ?human resources issues that would be created if the ballot question were approved,” AIM spokesman Christopher Geehern said.

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