The US Department of Justice mobilizes to get more cannabis growers for research
The Justice Department said last Monday that it needed to expand the number of marijuana growers for cannabis research authorized by the federal government. The measure has been long awaited after the investigators presented to a judge all the necessary documentation to force the Drug Control Administration to study various research requests.
Although the DEA began accepting applications approved by the federal government for cannabis cultivation for research 3 years ago, the reality is that this agency has not acted on more than two dozen applications. Given this attitude, the Department of Justice has deployed its power to ensure that there are more cannabis producers for research.
DEA spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff said they were still working on the process and those requests are still under review.
Both Republican legislators and Democrats in Congress did not understand why the Justice Department has taken so long to react. Attorney General William Barr had promised to study the status of applications in April. The DEA, being forced by the Department of Justice to give a deadline to respond to a judicial presentation, responded that next Monday it will process 33 applications for the investigation of the development of safe and effective cannabis-derived pharmaceutical products.
Last June, the Scottsdale Research Institute of Arizona petitioner asked the United States Court of Appeals for Washington DC to order the DEA to process the applications. The judge ordered the DEA to respond before Wednesday, which is a great success, according to the words of Dr. Sue Sisley of the research institute.
For a long time, the University of Mississippi has been the only entity that has a federal license to grow marijuana for scientific research. But researchers complain that cannabis grown by this entity does not have the quality of cannabis that is bought and sold in states where medical and recreational marijuana is legal. Scientists have asked for marijuana with the quality of that sold in these states, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And the Department of Justice has decided that it was time to get more cannabis growers for the development of research that is considered essential.
The federal agency said it plans to grow 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds) this year, only at the University of Mississippi, which to date was the only federally licensed entity to grow marijuana. This amount is enough for 5 million joints, although the government provides marijuana in other formats. From now on the research will feature new cannabis producers.
Therefore, the United States government is cultivating the largest crop of research marijuana in five years, responding to interest in varieties with high levels of THC and CBD. Crops will be divided between varieties with high THC and CBD content. There is increasing interest in CBD as a potential drug for a number of diseases.
Matthew Zorn, a lawyer representing the Scottsdale Research Institute, explains that they have filed a lawsuit to launch this program after three years of waiting. The measure announced on Monday provides researchers with a more varied and higher quality of marijuana plants for study and research.
Uttam Dhillon, acting administrator of the DEA, explained in a press release that the DEA is moving forward in the program to register new cannabis producers so they can carry out authorized federal research and will work with other federal agencies to accelerate the bureaucracy. , as required by the Department of Justice.
The agency is considering proposing new regulations that will govern the program and will be helpful in studying all new applications. Attorney General William Barr has expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the DEA is already reviewing the requests of growers who want to grow marijuana legally for the development of the investigation.
