The Huffington Post reports:
A new study has revealed a link between states withlegalized medical marijuana and a reduction in traffic-related fatalities. The study was conducted by D. Mark Anderson, a Montana State University economics professor, and Daniel Rees, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver.
A new study, reported in recent article in the Missoulian indicates that states that have legalized medical marijuana have seen a decrease in traffic fatalities and beer sales, as cannabis became a substitute for alcohol. To date, 16 states plus the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana.
Most of the data collected between 1990 and 2009 came from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The study includes the 13 states that had passed medical marijuana laws before 2009.
The report, authored by D. Mark Anderson of Montana State University and Daniel Reese of the University of Colorado, is under review by the Journal of Law and Economics
SignOn San Diego reports:
"For two years, John Riccio worried that smoking marijuana to relieve his chronic back and shoulder pain would get him in trouble with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has just discovered that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is about to award an exclusive license to KannaLife Sciences, Inc. of New York to develop medical therapeutics based on the chemistry of cannabis. According to the notice in the Federal Register, public comments will be accepted through Monday, December 19.
