A newly revised bipartisan marijuana research bill that was introduced in Congress on Thursday is being fast-tracked, with floor action on the legislation expected to happen next week before it is potentially sent to the president’s desk.
If things go according to plan, that would make the bill, which is nearly identical to an earlier Senate-passed measure, the first piece of standalone congressional marijuana reform legislation to reach the Oval Office. And while President Joe Biden has maintained a steadfast opposition to adult-use legalization, he’s expressed support for medical cannabis—and research in particular—so he’d be expected to sign.
The new text of the next bill is almost exactly the same as the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act from Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that the chamber approved in March, but with some minor changes.
Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD), who championed a separate cannabis research bill that cleared the House in April, are leading the newly revised measure in their chamber.
Unlike the House legislation, the newly introduced bill notably does not include a provision that scientists had welcomed that would have allowed researchers to access cannabis from state-legal dispensaries
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