(Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images)

Cannabis Patients Alliance is petitioning the Colorado Board of Health to demand that the federal government allow Colorado-grown cannabis to be used for research.

Last December, the Board of Health agreed to fund research into the benefits and efficacy of medical marijuana to the tune of $9 million. However, due to government interference, some of those studies may never get off the ground, much less be completed in the time allowed. It’s apparent, after the decision in July to deny the petition to add Post-Traumatic Stress-Disorder (PTSD) to the list of conditions for a medical marijuana (cannabis) license, citing not enough research, that this is a critical issue for this Board.

Currently, any clinical trials involving cannabis done in the United States must purchase the necessary cannabis from the federal government, which has been grown for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the University of Mississippi. It’s come to light that the farm at Ole Miss is unable to provide the specific cannabinoid ratios required in these studies (specifically high-CBD strains), and have no timeline as to when they might be able to do so. This leaves research hanging, waiting for word that they may someday get the product they need. But when?

Dr. Sue Sisley has been waiting for years to get all the approvals she needs to complete her research on PTSD, one of the studies funded by the Board of Health. Now, the largest hurdle seems to be getting approved product from NIDA. The ability to complete this study, as well as the two other clinical trials funded by Colorado, is in jeopardy.

This delay is completely unnecessary when cannabis grown to specification and tested for purity can be produced in a matter of months by reputable cultivators in Colorado, if it’s not available already. Using locally grown cannabis currently available on the market will provide more real-world results.

That’s why we’re asking the Colorado Board of Health to demand that the federal government allow cannabis grown and tested in Colorado to be used in research. If research is so critical to the policy decisions made by the Board of Health, they need to step forward and demand access to the cannabis needed to actually do the research they value so highly.

It’s time to break the NIDA stranglehold on research into cannabis.

Our goal is to reach 100 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/tell-the-board-of-health-to-demand-that-cannabis-grown-in-colorado-be-used-for-research?recruiter=57695974&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

Thanks!
Teri Robnett
Executive Director
Cannabis Patients Alliance

And while you’re at it, please donate to Cannabis Patients Alliance so we can keep fighting for the rights of medical marijuana patients! We can’t do this work without your support!

Categories: Colorado, Labs and Testing, Medical & Research, Research, Veterans

Tags: board of health, cannabis, cdphe, Colorado, colorado department of public health and environment, marijuana, medical marijuana, national institute on drug abuse, nida, patients, post-traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, research, veterans