A congressman sponsoring a bipartisan marijuana research bill displayed a package of THC-infused gummies from a California dispensary on Wednesday, underscoring the unique challenges that scientists interested in studying cannabis face under federal prohibition.
While Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) was easily able to obtain the marijuana product from a state-legal retailer, researchers must jump through multiple bureaucratic hoops to receive federal authorization to access cannabis for studies—and those products must come from federally contracted sources, rather than commercial retailers.
Holding the tin can of gummies at a press conference outside of the University of California at San Diego, the congressman said people “can find all sorts of [cannabis] products in the stores.” Yet researchers “can’t simply walk in, purchase an item, test its contents to inform our public health guidelines.”
The bill that Peters and Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) introduced in July—the Developing and Nationalizing Key (DANK) Cannabis Research Act—would help resolve that issue.
It would set a federal marijuana research agenda and create a designation for universities to carry out cannabis studies with federal grant money. Those designated universities would be protected against federal sanctions for obtaining marijuana from state-legal dispensaries for study purposes.
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