cannabisnews.com: Senseless Limits on Marijuana Research

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  Senseless Limits on Marijuana Research

Posted by CN Staff on January 17, 2017 at 06:00:00 PT
By The NYT Editorial Board 
Source: New York Times 

USA -- Even as more and more states allow their residents to use marijuana, the federal government is continuing to obstruct scientists from studying whether the drug is good or bad for people’s health.A report published last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine points out that scientists who want to study cannabis have to seek approvals from federal, state and local agencies and depend on just one lab, at the University of Mississippi, for samples. As a result, far too little is known about the health effects of a substance that 28 states have decided can be used as medicine and eight states and the District of Columbia have approved for recreational use.
The situation is so absurd, the report says, that chemists and brain researchers are not allowed to study cannabis concentrates and edibles. Yet those forms of the drug are widely used. For example, in Colorado, where voters decided to create a regulated market for marijuana in 2012, sales of concentrates reached $60.5 million in just the first three months of last year.Many of the research restrictions stem from the federal government’s decision to classify marijuana under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which limits access to funding, among other burdens. The report, which was written by a committee of health experts, does not go as far as calling for reclassification, something that Congress or the executive branch has the power to do.But the report’s conclusions show why marijuana does not belong with LSD and heroin on Schedule I, defined as substances with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The committee’s review of existing studies found “conclusive or substantial evidence” that marijuana or compounds in the plant can effectively treat chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy and some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Though there is not enough evidence to show that epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder can be successfully treated, the report said continuing clinical trials may yet provide proof.The report did point out that there could be harmful effects from marijuana use, like increased risk of car accidents. And marijuana smoking by pregnant women was linked to low birth weight. But cannabis does not increase the risk of lung or neck cancers and there is limited evidence that it leads people to start using other substances — the “gateway drug” theory.Regrettably, Congress and the Obama administration have refused to remove marijuana from Schedule I. And President-elect Donald Trump does not support recreational use of the drug, though he has endorsed medical use. His nominee for attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions, has a long record of opposing marijuana legalization by states and, in April, said, “good people don’t smoke marijuana.” During his confirmation hearings last week, he seemed to take a more sensible position by praising guidelines issued by the Justice Department in 2013 that let states experiment with legalization if they properly regulated production and distribution.Even if Mr. Trump and Congress are unwilling to reclassify marijuana, they could remove the regulatory barriers to research and let scientists get to work.A version of this editorial appears in print on January 17, 2017, on Page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: Senseless Limits on Marijuana ResearchSource: New York Times (NY) Published: January 17, 2017Copyright: 2017 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/5AHjPj43CannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 17, 2017 at 14:30:12 PT

Vincent
It sounded threatening.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on January 17, 2017 at 13:40:25 PT

Anyone craving more violence and more loss...
Go here:Drug War Victimshttp://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/drug-war-victim/Read a few of these. Do some research on them. Maybe that will satisfy your desire for war for awhile. Being a war monger of any kind is not on my agenda. In my heart, I made promises to the spirits of some of them that I would not let the injustice done to them go unnoticed.

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Comment #4 posted by Hope on January 17, 2017 at 13:25:04 PT

What we are. 
Vincent.You're lucky it's not your membership or right to post.We are a totally non-violent movement. You've been informed of that more than once. Stop your ranting for blood and physical force. We're about stopping the freaking blood shed and persecution!If the prohibs turn Duterte on us... then we defend ourselves. 'Til then... Peace, Brother!!! Do you understand?P E A C E
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Comment #3 posted by Vincent on January 17, 2017 at 12:30:47 PT:

removal
Why was my comment removed?
[ Post Comment ]




 


Comment #1 posted by SoupHerb on January 17, 2017 at 07:08:53 PT:

The Feds?
Senseless is about par for the course...
But do a random population survey and see what kind of results from that testing one would get...lol.
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