<span id="midArticle_start"/><span id="midArticle_0"/>May 28 A group opposed to pot legalization isunveiling proposals on Thursday for the U.S. government to easerestrictions on scientific research into marijuana's potentialas medicine, in a first step for an organization of its kind.
<span id="midArticle_1"/>The plan from Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which isco-founded by former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, comesafter three U.S. Senators this year introduced a bill that wouldrequire the federal government to recognize pot's medical valueand allow states to set their own medical cannabis policies.
<span id="midArticle_2"/>Kennedy will present his group's plan on Thursday toofficials in Washington, said Kevin Sabet, the group's presidentand chief executive.
<span id="midArticle_3"/>Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allowmedical marijuana, and voters in four states have gone furtherby approving the drug for recreational use by adults. But thedrug remains illegal under federal law, which classifies pot asa dangerous narcotic with no current medical use.
<span id="midArticle_4"/> <span class="first-article-divide"/>Drug policy reformers say the federal government's strictrules on marijuana research have prevented needed studies in theUnited States. With its plan, Smart Approaches to Marijuana iscalling for changes to some of those rules.
<span id="midArticle_5"/>"Let's put research into the hands of legitimate scientists,not pot profiteers," Sabet said.
<span id="midArticle_6"/> <span class="second-article-divide"/>The group's plan calls for the government to allow multipleentities to grow marijuana for research purposes beyond just theUniversity of Mississippi, which has a contract with theNational Institute on Drug Abuse as the sole provider ofmarijuana for federally sanctioned research.
<span id="midArticle_7"/>The group also is calling for the Department of Health andHuman Services to eliminate a review process for marijuanaresearch that critics say is burdensome.
<span id="midArticle_8"/> <span class="third-article-divide"/>And the group says the Drug Enforcement Agency shouldeliminate certain regulatory requirements for research intocannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana seen as having anumber of medical applications, and work with states to allow apure CBD product to be distributed more broadly for research.
<span id="midArticle_9"/>This comes as the UK-based company GW Pharmaceuticals continues research on its CBD-based drug Epidiolex totreat pediatric epilepsy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationhas approved that research.
<span id="midArticle_10"/>Mark Kleiman, who was hired by Washington state to consulton its move to legalize marijuana, called Smart Approaches toMarijuana's plan a good step.
<span id="midArticle_11"/>"I don't think there's any question that cannabinoids(constituents of marijuana) have medical utility, and we have tofind out what that is," Kleiman said. (Editing by Eric Walsh)
<span id="midArticle_12"/>
<span id="midArticle_1"/>The plan from Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which isco-founded by former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, comesafter three U.S. Senators this year introduced a bill that wouldrequire the federal government to recognize pot's medical valueand allow states to set their own medical cannabis policies.
<span id="midArticle_2"/>Kennedy will present his group's plan on Thursday toofficials in Washington, said Kevin Sabet, the group's presidentand chief executive.
<span id="midArticle_3"/>Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia allowmedical marijuana, and voters in four states have gone furtherby approving the drug for recreational use by adults. But thedrug remains illegal under federal law, which classifies pot asa dangerous narcotic with no current medical use.
<span id="midArticle_4"/> <span class="first-article-divide"/>Drug policy reformers say the federal government's strictrules on marijuana research have prevented needed studies in theUnited States. With its plan, Smart Approaches to Marijuana iscalling for changes to some of those rules.
<span id="midArticle_5"/>"Let's put research into the hands of legitimate scientists,not pot profiteers," Sabet said.
<span id="midArticle_6"/> <span class="second-article-divide"/>The group's plan calls for the government to allow multipleentities to grow marijuana for research purposes beyond just theUniversity of Mississippi, which has a contract with theNational Institute on Drug Abuse as the sole provider ofmarijuana for federally sanctioned research.
<span id="midArticle_7"/>The group also is calling for the Department of Health andHuman Services to eliminate a review process for marijuanaresearch that critics say is burdensome.
<span id="midArticle_8"/> <span class="third-article-divide"/>And the group says the Drug Enforcement Agency shouldeliminate certain regulatory requirements for research intocannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana seen as having anumber of medical applications, and work with states to allow apure CBD product to be distributed more broadly for research.
<span id="midArticle_9"/>This comes as the UK-based company GW Pharmaceuticals continues research on its CBD-based drug Epidiolex totreat pediatric epilepsy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationhas approved that research.
<span id="midArticle_10"/>Mark Kleiman, who was hired by Washington state to consulton its move to legalize marijuana, called Smart Approaches toMarijuana's plan a good step.
<span id="midArticle_11"/>"I don't think there's any question that cannabinoids(constituents of marijuana) have medical utility, and we have tofind out what that is," Kleiman said. (Editing by Eric Walsh)
<span id="midArticle_12"/>
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://ift.tt/1dAfNAX
No comments:
Post a Comment