Bill broadening marijuana research approved in US House

In a move hailed by cannabis advocates, the US House of Representatives passed a bill broadening researchers’ ability to study marijuana and its effects, on Wednesday.

Passed in a bipartisan voice vote, the bill enables authorised researchers to access cannabis plants grown under state programmes.

In the United States, the use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in 36 of the 50 states plus Washington DC, and for recreational use in 15 states plus the capital.

Until now, only the University of Mississippi was federally licensed to grow and clinically research the drug.

The plants that were available for study at the university, however, were “poor quality” and did not “accurately reflect the varieties of marijuana commercially available in the United States,” according to US pro-cannabis organisation NORML, reported AFP.

“The reality that most high-schoolers have easier access to cannabis than do our nation’s top scientists is the height of absurdity and an indictment of the current system,” said NORML deputy director Paul Armentano, as per AFP reports.

Bill co-sponsor Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic lawmaker from Oregon, ‘welcomed’ the move.

“It’s illegal everywhere in America to drive under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or any other substance. But we do not have a good test for impairment because we can’t study it,” he reportedly said. 

For the bill to take effect, it must be approved by the Senate.

The Democratic-controlled House also passed a bill last week that removes cannabis from the federal list of dangerous drugs, a a further step towards federal legalisation of the substance.