Senate
Would
Extend
Marijuana
Prohibition
to
Include
Medical
Research
4/10/98
- adapted from NORML weekly news, http://www.norml.org The Senate approved a "sense of the Senate" resolution on April 3 denying funding for any future medical marijuana research projects. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), is included in Senate Concurrent Resolution 86, a measure outlining Congressional budgets for the next five years. Although the amendment is not legally binding, the resolution may influence Congress when determining funding levels for health and research programs. NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup said:,"This amendment is a slap in the face to respected scientific and medical institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, the American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Cancer Society, and others -- all of which have recently urged the federal government to facilitate clinical trials to better determine marijuana's therapeutic potential." Senate Amendment 2180 states that "no funds appropriated by Congress should be used to... fund or support, or to compel any individual, institution, or government entity to... support any item, good, benefit, program, or service, for the purpose of marijuana for medicinal purposes." Smith argued that his amendment will help ensure that America's children are not sent mixed messages on drug use." Currently, all scientific protocols to examine marijuana's medical potential must receive federal funds. According to Rick Doblin –- head of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies -- this is because the only legal supplier of marijuana for research purposes remains the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and that agency will only consider providing marijuana to projects that have passed the NIH grant review process. NIH is currently funding only one study regarding marijuana's medical potential. Senate Con. Res. 86 now goes to the House for consideration. For more information, contact either Paul Armentano or Keith Stroup of NORML at (202) 483-5500. PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you. Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
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