NIH Seeks Input On What Barriers Continue To Make Marijuana Research Difficult

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks input on removing barriers to marijuana research and ensuring they build scientific evidence upon a broad base of high-quality studies. The top federal health agency released a request for information (RFI) on Thursday, asking researchers and other stakeholders about their experiences conducting cannabis research.

The agency has received a "growing number of applications" from researchers interested in studying marijuana. This process, it said, "provides NIH with invaluable insight into the interests of the research community in cannabis and its constituents."

The NIH said it had received a "growing number of applications" from researchers interested in studying marijuana. This process, it said, "provides NIH with invaluable insight into the interests of the research community in cannabis and its constituents."

Although there are limited barriers to researching cannabis because of its removal from Schedule I last year, these barriers still exist for researchers looking to study cannabis' therapeutic effects on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The agency is seeking feedback on how best to remove these remaining barriers that can impede research efforts and whether universities and states should be allowed to grow their strains of marijuana for medical purposes under certain circumstances.

NIH is focusing on potential "barriers to conducting such research," including access to cannabis products that are currently federally illegal and how they are enforcing those regulations. The RFI also asks respondents to highlight how Schedule I status and other restrictions impact their ability to conduct research.

In a friendly tone, the RFI reads: "The NIH (National Institutes of Health) invites your input regarding potential obstacles that may impede successful completion of this research program."

The top federal health agency wants to remove barriers to marijuana research and strengthen the scientific evidence of the plant's therapeutic potential.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public input on barriers to marijuana research, including the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug and limited strain access.

In a recent announcement, NIH director Francis Collins said his agency wants to "remove barriers" to conducting scientific studies on the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. He pointed out that while there's plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting the general public can use marijuana therapeutically, there's still very little in-depth research into its effectiveness in treating specific conditions and possible side effects.

The backdrop for this move? In January 2018, Congress approved funding for federal agencies like NIH to study the potential health benefits or risks associated with medical marijuana use by patients—if so much as one person has ever been harmed by smoking weed before (spoiler alert: no).

Conclusion

Ultimately, we think this is an excellent move by NIH to help remove barriers to medical marijuana research. The federal government has slowly recognized and acted on the plant's medicinal potential. Still, after decades of inaction, we are finally starting to see some real progress. We hope this RFI begins a new era for cannabis science in America—where researchers can finally get enough funding and access to answer essential questions about how cannabis works as medicine.