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CBD, the trendy cannabis extract increasingly used to relieve pain, anxiety and insomnia, is attracting the interest of the biggest consumer-health companies. The venture formed by pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. is studying CBD as part of an effort to ensure it’s the No. 1 consumer pain relief company in the world, Chief Executive Officer Brian McNamara said in an interview Thursday after the companies announced the transaction was complete. The new entity hasn’t made any decisions, he said. (Paton and Milligan, 8/1)

After months of argument about whether Oregon should strengthen its requirement that all children be vaccinated, the debate about how far an Oregon parent’s right to refuse established medical advice is back on the national radar. This time it involves CBD, a flashpoint in medical research as cannabis is slowly legalized. Kylee Dixon, 13, became an emblem of the debate when her mother, Christine, was accused of defying a court order to deliver Kylee to state care in order to prevent her from getting a surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her liver. (Harbarger, 8/1)

Medical marijuana is expected to start reaching select dispensaries in Louisiana on Tuesday, after the state agriculture department completed final testing and cleared therapeutic cannabis for release to patients. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain announced Thursday evening that GB Sciences, one of two state-sanctioned growers, can begin shipping out the product to Louisiana’s registered dispensaries. Strain thanked “everyone who has worked tirelessly from inception through production and testing to make this a reality.” (Deslatte, 8/1)

Missouri starts officially accepting applications for medical marijuana businesses Saturday, and it’s a potentially lucrative business: A cannabis data research company estimates that by 2025, Missouri could see $111 million in medical marijuana sales yearly. But [Angela] Boykin and other applicants are black, and even though Missouri by law can’t factor in race or gender when awarding licenses, the national trend is that pot business owners and founders are overwhelmingly white. (Okeson-Haberman, 8/1)

Kaiser Health News: Colorado Doctors Note The Challenges In Treating Marijuana Users Who Undergo Surgery

When Colorado legalized marijuana, it became a pioneer in creating new policies to deal with the drug. Now the state’s surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists are becoming pioneers of a different sort in understanding what weed may do to patients who go under the knife. Their observations and initial research show that marijuana use may affect patients’ responses to anesthesia on the operating table — and, depending on the patient’s history of using the drug, either help or hinder their symptoms afterward in the recovery room. (Ruder, 8/2)