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WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation led by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) that would eliminate barriers on the legitimate research of medical marijuana.

“Antiquated laws written during the War on Drugs have built blockades to urgent research that could help us better understand the physical and mental health impact of marijuana,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “With the Medical Marijuana Research Act, we can empower the researchers who will educate the public about any and all potential benefits and risks of marijuana use. It is time to move our nation’s drug laws into the 21^st century, and this legislation is a critical piece of that process.”

The Medical Marijuana Research Act would:

• Amend the Controlled Substances Act to establish a new, separate registration process to facilitate research with marijuana for medical purposes;
• Encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce the wait time for approval research registration applications;
• Direct FDA to issue guidelines on the production of marijuana from authorized researchers and manufacturers; 
• Make available marijuana from state authorized marijuana programs; and
• Ensure all medical marijuana researchers are in compliance with FDA drug development standards.

Currently, the Federal government only allows researchers to use marijuana provided by the University of Mississippi. According to researchers, the marijuana provided by the University of Mississippi more resembles hemp than the medical or recreational marijuana produced by state-licensed providers. This has hindered researchers ability to understand the full extent of the medical benefits of marijuana. 

According to a recent report, the U.S. has spent roughly $1.5 billion on marijuana research from 2008 to 2019. The vast majority of that research was focused on the potential harm, not medical potential, of marijuana.

Co-leads of the legislation alongside Dingell are U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Rob Bishop (R-UT). 

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