Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 28 Jul 2015 04:20:21 PST
Senators To Feds: Do More To Facilitate Medical Marijuana Research
Washington, DC: Senate leaders on both sides of the political aisle are demanding the federal government take steps to facilitate clinical cannabis research.
On July 9, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), sent a formal letter to representatives of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) urging them to take efforts to better facilitate "large scale clinical trials" in regard to the use of medical marijuana in states that have legalized it.
The letters states: "HHS has tools to collect data, conduct surveillance, and perform large scale clinical trials while states continue to focus on implementation. HHS has the capacity to facilitate interstate communication in order to derive a more accurate picture of medical marijuana use and treatments across the country. It is time for the federal government to pick up these tools and use them."
The Democratic Senators also called on the federal government to diversify its sources of research-grade cannabis and demanded that they eliminate "extraneous regulatory barriers for researchers who wish to perform scientific studies on the use of marijuana for various diseases."
Their sentiments were echoed in a Time Magazine op-ed penned by Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein (CA) and Republican Sen. Charles Grassley (IA), who similarly demanded the Feds "cut red tape and streamline the licensing and regulatory processes so [that medical marijuana] research can move ahead."
The two Senators further asked the administration to "definitively determine if CBD (cannabidiol) has scientific and medical benefits," and to "look at expanding compassionate access programs where possible, to benefit as many children as possible."
Both Senators had previously been outspoken critics of proposed changes in state laws permitting qualified patients to use cannabis therapeutically.
Federal regulations currently demand that investigators seeking to conduct clinical trials with cannabis or organic cannabinoids (such as cannabidiol) are required to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse. (An additional regulatory requirement mandating that the US Public Health Service review all clinical protocols was abolished last month.) Further, approved protocols may only utilize marijuana supplied by the University of Mississippi, the sole provider of cannabis for federally approved research. Testifying before Congress in June, NIDA Director Nora Volkow said that the agency's monopoly on the federally licensed production of marijuana for clinical research is problematic and ought to be amended to include additional producers.
Senator Warren and her co-signers have requested that their letter be answered by no later than August 31, 2015.
Hawaii: Governor Signs Measure To Provide Safe Access To Medical Marijuana Patients
Honolulu, HI: Democrat Gov. David Ige signed legislation last week to establish a system of medical dispensaries for the state's nearly 14,000 medical marijuana patients.
House Bill 321 permits the state "to issue eight dispensary licenses statewide; provided that three dispensary licenses shall be issued for the city and county of Honolulu, two dispensary licenses each shall be issued for the county of Hawaii and the county of Maui, and one dispensary license shall be issued for the county of Kauai. ... Up to two production centers shall be allowed under each dispensary license, provided that each production center shall be limited to no more than three thousand marijuana plants. A dispensary licensee may establish up to two retail dispensing locations under the licensee's dispensary license."
The state Department of Health has until January 4, 2016 to finalize rules governing the dispensary program. Licensed dispensaries are anticipated to be operational by July 15, 2016. Once operational, qualified patients will be able to obtain up to four ounces of cannabis or cannabis-infused products, such as oils, tinctures, or lozenges, from a licensed provider every 15 days.
A separate provision included in HB 321 also adds post-traumatic stress as a qualifying condition under the state's medical cannabis law.
Legislation initially enacted by state lawmakers in 2000 provides qualified patients the legal right to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes, but did not allow for its production and distribution via dispensaries.
Study: Sleep-Disturbed Patients Report Relief From Cannabis
Berkeley, CA: Patients with sleep disorders find relief from the ingestion of various strains of cannabis, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Investigators from the University of California at Berkeley, the National Center for PTSD, and John Hopkins University in Baltimore evaluated cannabis species and cannabinoid concentration preferences among medical cannabis users who reported using the plant for the management of sleep problems.
Participants who consumed cannabis for nightmares preferred sativa strains to indica strains, researchers reported. Those who consumed cannabis for insomnia were more likely to ingest strains with higher levels of cannabidiol (CBD) compared to those who did not. Those who were less likely to use sleep medications were more likely to report using cannabis with higher THC concentrations versus those who used sleep aids more frequently.
Full text of the study, "Cannabis species and cannabinoid concentration preference among sleep-disturbed medicinal cannabis users," appears in Addictive Behaviors.
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