The Brookings Institution - Past MMJ Research Hampered by US Agencies

One of our nations oldest, independent Think tanks, just released a paper that somewhat shames the "governments war on Medical Marijuana research". Groups like NORML, MPP and ASA have all fought for the Federal rescheduling of Marijuana and provided evidence over the years of biased research and approval processes. However, as new evidence comes to light, outside groups are taking note of the medical potentials and want to see the research advanced.

"The federal government is stifling medical research in a rapidly transforming area of public policy that has consequences for public health and public safety. As medical marijuana becomes increasingly accessible in state-regulated, legal markets, and as others self-medicate in jurisdictions that do not allow the medical use of cannabis, it is increasingly important that the scientific community conduct research on this substance. However, statutory, regulatory, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers have paralyzed science and threatened the integrity of research freedom in this area.

Of all the controlled substances that the federal government regulates, cannabis is treated in a unique manner in ways that specifically impede research".

You can find the full Brookings Institution paper here --> The Brookings Institution

We encourage you to read the full report. It offers background into the current Schedule 1 status of Marijuana and explores what the landscape would look like if it were rescheduled. The report also talks about the current monopoly on MMJ for research, through NIDA. Loads of wonderful facts in this report.

There has been progress made in the US lately. In June of this year, the Obama administration removed a rule that required all non-Federally funded MMJ research to be approved by the government. “The two biggest hurdles to marijuana research have been the PHS review and NIDA’s monopoly on the supply of marijuana available for research purposes,” Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, told the International Business Times. “Now that one of those unnecessary barriers has been removed, we hope the second will undergo serious scrutiny.”

That is our big take away from the story. It's not that progress has been slowed, for whatever reasons, the take away is that we are having the conversation. Support for MMJ is around 80% in this country, with roughly 58% in support of full legalization. Potential health benefits from Medical Marijuana are a serious, and now, mainstream topic. We'd like to see continued research, with large scale human trials. It would be great to better understand the varieties of MMJ strains and the unique properties they hold. Research is imperative.

Fortunately, other countries have taken the lead in regards to quality medical research. The US will be playing catch-up, but at least we are starting to play. The pressure for more science, from groups outside of the "weed world" will hopefully lead to the acceptance of a medicine that is already working well for millions. This time, there will be more science to back-up the anectdotal evidence.

#legal