Pennsylvania will be among the first states to certify an unlimited number of academic clinical research centers.
Pennsylvania will be among the first states to certify an unlimited number of academic clinical research centers that will partner with up to eight medical schools that will hold both grower/processor and dispensary permits to conduct cannabis research.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine intends to get in on that process post haste, according to PennLive.
Each medical school undertaking the research will work in tandem with a separate organization that will grow the cannabis to the studied and dispense to patients involved in the research programs.
These entities will require state approval, which is expected to be forthcoming.
This decision is viewed as a positive step forward for medical marijuana and for science in that MMJ research has been hindered by the fact that the DEA has kept the plant on its list as a Schedule 1 drug, implying it has no medical benefit, a fact that scientists have disproven on many occasions.
This is happening despite Attorney General Jeff Sessions having rolled back the Obama-era policy that gave states the legal leeway to allow recreational use of weed and, by extension, some MMJ research.
Having approved MMJ in 2016, various Pennsylvania politicians and others in related fields have said their state would become a national leader in medical marijuana research. And it seems they are making progress.
In related cannabis news in Pennsylvania, the state laid out its timeline for phase two of its medical marijuana program, which involves approving 13 more growers/processors and 23 more dispensaries.
PennLive.com reported that the state’s dispensaries have been faced with supply issues, with only two growers currently shipping products.
Here’s hoping the state will start moving full steam ahead with its medical marijuana program.
Thousands of patients will be grateful.
Source: The Weed Blog
