Published December 18. 2020 4:54PM
Seattle Times
This editorial appeared in the Seattle Times.
The state of marijuana research law defies common sense. Although Washingtonians are free to purchase an astonishing array of cannabis products for recreational or medical use, many of the state s finest researchers are handcuffed in their ability to examine the good or harm of those same products.
Federal law requires all research in federally funded laboratories to use only marijuana from a single facility in Oxford, Mississippi, thousands of miles away from Washington s hundreds of marijuana retailers. This absurd restriction needs to end.
A bill now before the U.S. Senate would improve matters dramatically and deserves approval. The Medical Marijuana Research Act, which passed the House with resounding bipartisan approval, would untie researchers hands nationwide. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is a co-sponsor.
NORML
Members of the Senate advanced legislation on Wednesday that seeks to expand the pool of federally licensed entities permitted to grow marijuana for clinical research purposes. For over five decades, federal regulators have only authorized a single licensee – the University of Mississippi – to cultivate cannabis plants for use in FDA-approved clinical studies.
The legislation, Senate Bill 2032: The Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, tasks the US Attorney General with authorizing scientists to engage in marijuana-specific clinical research trials, and also provides the AG with the power to approve applications form multiple entities to “manufacture marijuana for research purposes.” Under the proposal, the AG’s office would need to act upon pending manufacturing applications within 60 days of receiving them.
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse,
As devastating as 2020 has been, one industry has emerged with record growth, notwithstanding the pandemic, cannabis. BDSA’s market forecast projects global cannabis sales for 2020 will reach $19.7 billion, an increase of 38% over 2019 sales. In the U.S., according to Marijuana Business Daily Research, by 2024, the yearly medical and recreational cannabis sales in the U.S. could reach as high as $37 billion.
Cannabis stocks traded down this week, despite a series of financing announcements and other good news, including a new bill from Congress.
GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ:GRWG) wants to raise $125 million via a public offering. The offering was then upsized to $150 million on Wednesday, offering 5 million shares at a price of $30.00 per share.
Weedmaps is going public via a merger with
Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:SSPK), while
LeafLink closed a $40 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund.
“Money keeps flowing into the cannabis space as we saw the huge $1.5 billion valuation given to the Weedmaps deal with the Silver Spike SPAC. Not only that, GrowGeneration supersized its offering from $125 million to $150 million. Despite the inconsistent stock performance, there is still a big demand for investment in this industry,” Debra Borchard, editor in chief of Green Market Report, told Benzinga.
Medical marijuana bill co-sponsored by Rep Morgan Griffith passes House wsls.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wsls.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.