IPFS News Link • Drugs and Medications
Why It's So Hard For Scientists To Study Medical Marijuana
• Shaunacy Ferro via PopSci.comThe Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed marijuana in the most restrictive use category, Schedule I, deeming it a drug with no medicinal value and high potential for abuse. To do clinical research with marijuana, you need a DEA license, and you need to get your study approved by the FDA. When it comes to actually obtaining research-grade marijuana, though, you have to go through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a process that has proved problematic for some researchers determined to study the potential medical benefits of pot.
"Marijuana is a linchpin in the War on Drugs," explains Brad Burge, the director of communications for the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Research (MAPS), an organization currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the DEA over the right to establish a medical marijuana farm. "There’s a lot of investment in marijuana remaining illegal."