MAP Drugnews - Top Stories

Globe and Mail, 25 Jun 2018 - With the legalization of cannabis only a few months away, one of Canadaa€™s top medical organizations is warning women about the risks the drug poses if used during pregnancy and breastfeeding. According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, marijuana use can lead to preterm birth and low birth weight, as well as lower IQ and hyperactivity after a child is born.

Sun-Sentinel, 22 Jun 2018 - A convicted Colombian drug cartel leader who went undercover to inform on Mexican kingpin "El Chapo" and other major traffickers has been sentenced to 31 years in prison. The Miami Herald reports that 48-year-old Henry De Jesus Lopez Londono, who was arrested in Argentina and extradited to Miami in 2016, was sentenced on Monday for drug trafficking conspiracy.

Orlando Sentinel, 20 Jun 2018 - A closely watched medicine made from the marijuana plant reduces seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy and warrants approval in the United States, health officials said Tuesday. British drugmaker GW Pharmaceuticals is seeking permission to sell its purified form of an ingredient found in cannabis -- one that doesn't get users high -- as a medication for rare, hard-to-treat seizures in children. If successful, the company's liquid formula would be the first government-approved drug derived from the cannabis plant in the U.S.

Orlando Sentinel, 20 Jun 2018 - A British pharmaceutical company is getting closer to a decision on whether the U.S government will approve the first prescription drug derived from the marijuana plant, but parents who for years have used cannabis to treat severe forms of epilepsy in their children are feeling more cautious than celebratory. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide by the end of the month whether to approve GW Pharmaceuticals' Epidiolex. It's a purified form of cannabidiol -- a component of cannabis that doesn't get users high -- to treat Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes in kids. Both forms of epilepsy are rare.

Lexington Herald-Leader, 20 Jun 2018 - If you'd like to know more about what modern hemp farming looks like, the Mount Holly Farm owned by Laura Freeman will have an open-house party on Saturday. From 1 to 4 p.m., you can see the newly planted hemp crop, which is grown for grain, and see the CBD hemp crop as well. The CBD crop provides cannabidiol oil used in a variety of products.

Morning Call, 19 Jun 2018 - State lawmakers moved Tuesday to reinstate the research provision of Pennsylvania's medical marijuana law, a month after a court decision left it in limbo. The House voted 167-31 to change the law by laying out more explicitly the goal of its provisions allowing medical schools to partner with companies that grow the drug and provide it to patients.

Philadelphia Daily News, 19 Jun 2018 - A PASS IN PA. All marijuana users are forbidden from operating a car, truck, boat, or an airplane under Pennsylvania statute. That poses a conundrum for medical marijuana patients who need to drive and want to stay within the bounds of law.