The DEA announced that it is moving forward to facilitate and expand scientific and medical research for marijuana in the US.
The DEA is providing notice of pending applications from entities that have been applying for registration to grow marijuana for researchers. It expects that registering additional qualified marijuana farmers will increase the variety of marijuana available for these purposes.
The number of individuals registered by the DEA to conduct research with marijuana has increased over the last two years. It has also more than doubled the production quota for marijuana each year based on increased usage projections for federally approved research projects.
Attorney General William Barr welcomed the move, he is “pleased that DEA is moving forward with its review of applications for those who seek to grow marijuana legally to support research.” and further saying:
The Department of Justice will continue to work with our colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services and across the Administration to improve research opportunities wherever we can.
“DEA is making progress in the program to register additional marijuana growers for federally allowed research, and will work with other relevant federal agencies to expedite the next steps,” said Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon.
“We support additional research into marijuana and its components, and we believe registering more growers will cause researchers having access to a wider variety for study.” according to a press release.
“We have a situation where there are thousands of types of cannabis being sold throughout the regulated market, the illicit market, and that’s the material that we would like to work with,” Dr. Sue Sisley, Scottsdale Research Institute’s (SRI) principal investigator told CBS News. “Scientists want to understand or be able to replicate what patients are using in the real world because patients are claiming to have these transformative experiences with cannabis.”
It looked like the situation would get better for researchers when the DEA announced that it would expand the number of marijuana growers. Thirty-three entities, including the SRI, applied, but the DEA never even acknowledged the applications for years, despite a federal statute requiring a response within 90 days.
This prompted the SRI to sue the DEA in June, demanding that it explain the radio silence. The following month, a federal court ordered the DEA to respond to by August 28 — and just two days before that deadline, it finally responded in a notice filed in the Federal Register.
The next steps will include new rules regarding the growth of marijuana before the DEA approves applications. This means that researchers must settle with a subpar product for a little while longer.
“Now we just need to keep the DEA’s feet to the fire and make sure they follow their own timelines they laid out in today’s public notice,” she told CBS News. “It will take a long time to get access to newly cultivated cannabis material for research. At least that door is now open.”
