New sources for medical marijauna studies
Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 5:50 pm
After 50 Years, U.S. Opens The Door To More Cannabis Crops For Scientists
May 30, 2021 6:00 AM ET
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... scientists
After more than 50 years, the federal government is lifting a roadblock to cannabis research that scientists and advocates say has hindered rigorous studies of the plant and possible drug development.
Since 1968, U.S. researchers have been allowed to use cannabis from only one domestic source: a facility based at the University of Mississippi, through a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
That changed earlier this month, when the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it's in the process of registering several additional American companies to produce cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.
It's a move that promises to accelerate understanding of the plant's health effects and possible therapies for treating conditions — chronic pain, the side effects of chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis and mental illness, among many others — that are yet to be well studied.
"This is a momentous decision," says Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which has spearheaded research into other Schedule 1 drugs — the most restrictive class of controlled substance, which the federal government defines as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use."
"This is the last political obstruction of research with Schedule 1 drugs," he says.
About one-third of Americans currently live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal — and more than 30 states have medical marijuana programs. Yet scientists still aren't allowed to simply use the cannabis sold at state-licensed dispensaries for their clinical research because cannabis remains illegal under federal law.
"It is a big disconnect," says Dr. Igor Grant, a psychiatry professor and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at University of California, San Diego.
The new DEA decision doesn't resolve the conflict between federal and state laws, but it does offer researchers a new, federally sanctioned pipeline for more products and strains of cannabis.
"We'll see a decade or more of explosive cannabis research and potential new therapies," says Dr. Steve Groff, founder and chairman of Groff North America, one of three companies that has publicly announced it has preliminary approval from the federal government to cultivate cannabis for research.
[continued]
May 30, 2021 6:00 AM ET
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... scientists
After more than 50 years, the federal government is lifting a roadblock to cannabis research that scientists and advocates say has hindered rigorous studies of the plant and possible drug development.
Since 1968, U.S. researchers have been allowed to use cannabis from only one domestic source: a facility based at the University of Mississippi, through a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
That changed earlier this month, when the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it's in the process of registering several additional American companies to produce cannabis for medical and scientific purposes.
It's a move that promises to accelerate understanding of the plant's health effects and possible therapies for treating conditions — chronic pain, the side effects of chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis and mental illness, among many others — that are yet to be well studied.
"This is a momentous decision," says Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which has spearheaded research into other Schedule 1 drugs — the most restrictive class of controlled substance, which the federal government defines as "drugs with no currently accepted medical use."
"This is the last political obstruction of research with Schedule 1 drugs," he says.
About one-third of Americans currently live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal — and more than 30 states have medical marijuana programs. Yet scientists still aren't allowed to simply use the cannabis sold at state-licensed dispensaries for their clinical research because cannabis remains illegal under federal law.
"It is a big disconnect," says Dr. Igor Grant, a psychiatry professor and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at University of California, San Diego.
The new DEA decision doesn't resolve the conflict between federal and state laws, but it does offer researchers a new, federally sanctioned pipeline for more products and strains of cannabis.
"We'll see a decade or more of explosive cannabis research and potential new therapies," says Dr. Steve Groff, founder and chairman of Groff North America, one of three companies that has publicly announced it has preliminary approval from the federal government to cultivate cannabis for research.
[continued]