Medical Marijuana Update

A leading Senate Republican calls for removing obstacles to medical marijuana research, a Florida judge decides to take up a case over the state's ban on smoking medical marijuana, and more.

Last Friday, Orrin Hatch decried obstacles to medical marijuana research. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told the Deseret News he supports research into medical marijuana and condemns the federal "regulatory acrobatics" required of researchers who want to study the plant. "Under current law, those who want to complete research on the benefits of medical marijuana must engage in a complex application process and interact with several federal agencies… The longer researchers have to wait, the longer patients have to suffer," Hatch said through his spokesman. Hatch is the sponsor of the Marijuana Effective Drug Study (MEDS) Act of 2017 (Senate Bill 1803), which aims to reduce research barriers.

Florida

Last Friday, a state judge announced she will hear a medical marijuana smoking case. State Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers announced that she will hear arguments over a lawsuit that challenges a new rule barring the smoking of medical marijuana. The hearing is set for January 25. As the USA Herald drily noted, "The conservative legislature is often caught between what is, clearly, the will of their constituents and the presumed traditionalism of their constituents."

Guam

On Monday, the territory's medical marijuana program proposed rules got a hearing. Guamanian lawmakers held a public hearing on the updated rules and regulations for the US territory's medical marijuana program Monday. The hearing covered markups to Bill 210, which is set to adopt rules written by the Department of Public Health and Social Services.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]