"Health & Medical News"

Medical-marijuana supporters in Michigan say they have gathered more than enough signatures in a petition drive to get the issue on the ballot, the Detroit Free Press reported Nov. 21.

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care said it has submitted 496,000 signatures from registered voters to the state; only 304,000 are needed to get a medical-marijuana question before the state legislature. If lawmakers don’t act on the proposal — which would make medical use of the drug legal under state law — it would be placed on the 2008 ballot.

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An anti-psychotic drug already approved in the U.S. to treat adults and adolescents with schizophrenia may soon be available for youngsters age 10 to 17 years of age suffering from bipolar disorder.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given priority review status to the drug Abilify which is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical.

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A federal court will hear arguments next month on whether farmers in North Dakota should be allowed to grow hemp, a non-narcotic cousin of marijuana, CNN reported Oct. 17.

The Nov. 14 hearing will determine whether the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is unreasonably blocking the farmers’ petition to legally grow hemp; the DEA and federal drug laws make no distinction between hemp and marijuana.

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