House Green Lights researchers accessing marijuana from pharmacies

By Jelena Martinovic

The House of Representatives approved a major infrastructure bill late Friday that would allow researchers to study marijuana purchased from state-licensed pharmacies. The law now goes on President Joe Biden’s desk.

The bill will allow scientists to study cannabis that is not exclusively grown by the government and encourage states with legal cannabis to educate people about impaired driving.

Photo by janiecbros / Getty Images

The move came on the heels of recently passed legislation that would require the VA to conduct clinical trials of the therapeutic potential of marijuana for military veterans.

This bill, sponsored by Rep. Lou Correa (D-Cal), was passed by the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday 18:11, with all Democrats supported and all but one Republican against.

Bill to Remove Barriers to Cannabis Research

The new infrastructure measure requires cooperation between the Minister of Transport, the Attorney General and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, with the three authorities to produce a public report within two years of the bill’s entry into force.

RELATED: Marijuana Research Bill Would Give Scientists Access to Pharmacy Products

The report is expected to include a recommendation to establish a national clearinghouse to “collect and distribute marijuana samples and strains for scientific research into marijuana and marijuana-containing products that are legally available for retail sale to patients or consumers in a state are ”, contains a study that examines the impairments of driving in detail.

The measure also provides that Scientists working in states that are not yet in the legalization process should also have access to pharmacy products available in jurisdictions that have lifted the ban.

RELATED: Veterans Marijuana Research Bill Gets Green Light Despite Objections From Biden Administration

Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO), who sponsored the research language in the Senate and added it to the transportation legislation during a committee recording, told Marijuana Moment that the bill was “an important step in researching how we can regulate cannabis.” impaired safe and accurate driving … Americans support legalized marijuana, and now Congress is catching up. “

Meanwhile, the DEA recently proposed a significant increase in federal limits for making psilocybin, psilocin, and marijuana for research purposes.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.