Americans for Safe Access

Washington, DC -- Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a voice vote HR 3797, the  Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD). 

In response to questions from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-NY) office, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the State Department has gone on record that the U.S. could issue multiple licenses for the cultivation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes without violating the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. This interpretation is at odds with Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) interpretation that the treaty only allows a single license, which is granted to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) creating the “NIDA-monopoly on cannabis,”which has stalled medical cannabis research for years.

According, to NIH:

Under the 1961 international Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (amended in 1972), cannabis is designated a Schedule I substance, and participating countries are required to restrict production, manufacture, possession and distribution of marijuana except for medical and scientific purposes. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulates the cultivation of marijuana for research purposes through licensing requirements and establishing annual aggregate production quotas under the authority of the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which implements the Single Convention. To date, the DEA has only issued a single license for the cultivation of marijuana for research, to the University of Mississippi, which is funded through a NIDA contract. Questions on the authority to issue additional licenses would have to be addressed to the DEA.

State Department Confirms Breaking Up NIDA Monopoly Does Not Violate UN Treaty

(Washington, D.C.) - The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the State Department has gone on record stating that the United States could issue multiple licenses for the cultivation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes without violating the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs treaty. The statement came in response to a direct request from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) regarding whether issuing multiple licenses to grow medical marijuana was a violation of the Single Convention. The State Department’s interpretation is at odds with that of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) which has always maintained that the treaty only allows a single license, which is granted to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This has created what is referred to as the “NIDA monopoly on cannabis,” which has stalled medical cannabis research for years.

Earlier this week, the Brookings Institution issued a report that takes the federal government to task for undermining research on medical cannabis. In “Ending the U.S. government's war on medical marijuana research,” Brookings fellow John Hudak and senior research assistant Grace Wallack explain the various barriers that make authoritative research on cannabis extremely difficult to conduct in the United States. While many legitimate studies of medical cannabis do exist,  federal government policy makes it extremely difficult for researchers to follow up on existing knowledge and scale up research. The barriers to research that have been put in place are no small matter, as the reports asserts that these federal barriers have “paralyzed science” surrounding medical cannabis. This outcome is especially troubling as more and more state medical cannabis programs are being created and millions of patients are participating in these programs.