On August 11, 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced their intention to grant licenses to additional marijuana (cannabis) growers for research purposes, thereby ending the 48-year monopoly on marijuana legal for research. Since 1968, the University of Mississippi, under contract to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has maintained the only facility in the United States with federal permission to grow marijuana for research.
MAPS has been working to eliminate this marijuana research blockade for over 15 years. NIDA’s marijuana can be used for research but not sold as a prescription medicine, making it unacceptable for use in future Phase 3 studies.
“There was no production monopoly on any other Schedule I drug, such as MDMA or LSD—only the cannabis plant. Licensing non-government cannabis producers, and thereby creating a path to FDA approval, will finally facilitate the removal of marijuana from Schedule I, and ultimately allow patients to receive insurance coverage for medical marijuana,” said Rick Doblin, Ph.D., MAPS Founder and Executive Director. Read the press release… | Learn more…