Health professional overwhelmingly support the use of medical cannabis among patients in hospice care, according to data published in The Journal of Palliative Medicine.

Investigators from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy surveyed a nationally representative sample of 310 hospice professionals (primarily nurses) from 40 states.

Ninety-one percent of respondents endorsed the use of medical cannabis among hospice patients. Ninety percent of respondents said that they have fielded questions from patients regarding the use of medical cannabis, and 73 percent acknowledging having cared for a patient who has used it.

A request by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to dismiss nearly 5,000 past cases of marijuana possession was denied by judges on Friday, according to online court records. On Monday, a spokeswoman for the State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed that the petition had been rejected by the judges.

Prosecutors had filed paperwork to dismiss cases going back to 2011, covering approximately 1,000 convictions in Circuit Court and almost 3,800 more in District Court. The judges’ reasoning for rejecting the requests is not yet clear.

A group of mothers are banding together to ask Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to decriminalize marijuana and shift police focus to solving homicides, writes Joseph Misulonas.

State lawmakers in both chambers filed legislation Wednesday that would end cannabis prohibition in Maryland.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced on Tuesday that marijuana possession cases in the city will no longer be prosecuted. The city’s lead prosecutor also said that she plans to vacate as many as 5,000 previous convictions, according to media reports. Mosby said that the change in policy is in part a reaction to the racial disparity prevalent in the prosecution of cannabis offenses.

“The statistics are damning when it comes to the disproportionate impact that the ‘War on Drugs’ has had on communities of color,” Mosby said. “As your state’s attorney, I pledged to institute change and I refuse to stand by and be a facilitator of injustice and inequity when it is clear that we can be so much smarter and do so much more on behalf of the people we serve.”

Cannabis is coming to the classroom.

The first degrees in cannabis chemistry will be offered beginning this fall at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., according to the university’s website. The soon-to-be-launched program will offer both associate and bachelor’s degrees, and will equip students “with the knowledge necessary to gain employment in emergent cannabis markets.”

It all started with a single college course.

“It is ‘BPA 227 — Entrepreneurial Opportunity in Expanding Markets: Cannabis Legalization,” Shad Ewart, chair of the Department of Business Management at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland, tells High Times. “That is a mouthful, but that was part of the compromise. I had wanted the title to be ‘Ganjaprenuership.’”

Ewart is referring to the standalone course he currently teaches at Anne Arundel. He first taught BPA 227 back in January 2015, largely as a response to the growing interest students had in cannabis and legalization.

The Maryland General Assembly is back in session, and the state’s education needs could mean that cannabis legalization will be a major policy contender in 2019. Several lawmakers recently voiced their concerns about Maryland’s education funding — or lack thereof — and some are weighing all viable options to get the necessary resources.

It's been a full year since medical marijuana officially entered Maryland’s economy and over $100 million in revenue has been generated by local dispensaries during that time.

Former Baltimore Ravens football star, Eugene Monroe, is one of the biggest names in Maryland’s cannabis business which has already helped heal thousands of local residents.

"The more people who become aware of the availability of cannabis and the ease of access to it increases, we do think that we will continue to see that type of growth here in the market,” said Monroe.

Local leaders have also embraced the new businesses into their community's.

Last week, Maryland’s body of cannabis policymakers, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, unanimously decided to place multiple rigid regulations on advertisements for cannabis products and services. While the regulations are called “restrictions” in the official ruling, there are so many that the state has effectively banned all forms of advertising for anything related to medical cannabis consumption.