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The U.S. government is growing the largest crop of marijuana for research purposes in five years, reports the Associated Press.

The increase is in response to the rapidly growing interest in marijuana strains with high levels of THC and CBD.

As noted by the AP, the government is the only source of cannabis for nearly all research in the U.S., while it still considers it illegal and dangerous. Mississippi, which holds the sole federal contract for producing marijuana. That’s enough for 5 million joints, although the government provides marijuana in different forms.

The crop will be divided between high THC and high CBD varieties with “recent interest (in CBD) as a potential medicine for a number of medical conditions,” NIDA said. The compound THC causes pot’s mind-altering effect; CBD doesn’t get people high.

Last year, a CBD-based drug was approved by federal regulators for two rare seizure disorders and researchers are pursuing research on it for other conditions. Others are focused on THC.

“We want to study what our patients are using,” said University of Colorado Assistant Professor Emily Lindley, who is investigating marijuana with high THC as an alternative to opioids for chronic back pain.

Lindley and other researchers want others besides the University of Mississippi to get federal authorization to grow research pot. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration created an application process for growers, but has not acted on more than two dozen applications. In June, Scottsdale Research Institute in Arizona asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to order the DEA to process the applications.

“We are still working through the process and those applications remain under review,” said DEA spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff in an email Thursday. She declined to comment on the litigation.

In response to questions from the AP, NIDA said there had been no major increase in demand for cannabis by researchers in recent years. Last year, 20 researchers got shipments of government marijuana, much of it from frozen cannabis grown in 2014. Since 2010, the number of researchers receiving government marijuana has ranged from eight to 21.

Researchers should be able to obtain material from the new crop in the fall after harvest and analyses are completed, NIDA said.

The chemical residue of marijuana has been found in incense burners that were used during funerary rites in western China in about 500 BC, reports Reuters. The finding proves what may be the oldest evidence of smoking marijuana for its mind-altering properties.

Read moreThousands Year Old Marijuana Residue Found in China Funerary Incense Burners

The Swiss government on Wednesday put forth a proposal to legalize marijuana as prescription medicine.

The proposal would allow prescriptions for marijuana to treat cancer and other serious ailments report Reuters. Separate from a Swiss government push to allow some cities to experiment with recreational marijuana, the proposition would replace the current system in which those seeking medical cannabis must apply for an exception from the Federal Health Office to get what is otherwise an illegal drug.

Read moreSwitzerland May Soon Legalize Medical Marijuana

According to new research, the use of marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for those with fibromyalgia.

The study, titled Safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in fibromyalgia, was published by the Journal of Clinical Medicine and was published online by the U.S. National Institute of Health.

Read moreMarijuana is Safe and Effective in Treating Fibromyalgia, Says Study

Illinois has officially become the 11th U.S. state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

As reported by the Associated Press, Illinois’ new governor signed the legislation into law today making his state the 11th to approve marijuana for recreational use in a program offering legal remedies and economic benefits to minorities whose lives critics say were damaged by a wayward war on drugs.

Read moreIllinois Legalizes Marijuana

Last year was a historical moment for both the state of Vermont and the marijuana community. Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana with a legislative vote rather than a ballot initiative.

However, it became clear quickly that the new laws weren’t as liberal as some probably would have liked. While a good first step, there is still much ground to be covered in terms of true recreational legalization.

Keep reading to discover what’s going on with Vermont’s marijuana laws and some possible changes and what they could mean in the future.

Read morePot in Vermont: The Latest on the Recreational Legalization Front

According to a report by Statistics Canada (first reported on by Reuters), Ottawa collected a combined C$55 million in revenue via federal excise and goods and services taxes. Provincial tax revenues were estimated at a combined C$132 million. Although this is obviously a large number, the figures were below projections, said Robyn Gibbard, an economist for the Conference Board of Canada think tank, “thanks in part to the bumpy rollout of legalization last fall.” Gibbard says; “However, we think that as the kinks are worked out, governments can expect strong growth in revenues from cannabis sales going forward”.

Read moreCanada’s federal and provincial governments earned C$186 million (roughly $140 million) in tax revenues from direct sales of cannabis in the first 5-1/2 months of legalization.

According to a new ruling from a California appeals court,  prison inmates who possess small amounts of marijuana are not guilty of a felony crime. According to NPR, the court ruled that because marijuana is legal in the state, it can’t be a felony in prison.

Read moreCalifornia Court Rules Possessing Marijuana in Prison is Not a Felony

New Mexico health officials on Thursday expanded the list of qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program to include opioid use disorder and several others, reports the Associated Press.

In addition to adding opioid use disorder, officials added Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder and three degenerative neurological disorders.

First-year Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), a former state health secretary, campaigned on a pledge to open up the medical marijuana program to people struggling with opioid use and addiction after the previous administration rejected petitions for the change.

Read moreNew Mexico Adds Opioid Use Disorder and Other Ailments as Qualifying Medical Marijuana Condition