Bill To Expand CBD, Marijuana Research Passes Senate
The U.S. Senate has passed the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, a bill to encourage scientific and medical research on marijuana and its compounds including cannabidiol, or CBD. The bill was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
This bill combines a bill previously introduced by Senators Feinstein and Grassley (the Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act) with a bill previously introduced by Senator Schatz (the Marijuana Effective Drug Studies Act.) Under the bill, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health would be required to submit a report to Congress within a year of the bill’s enactment into law on the potential harms and benefits of marijuana use. The goal of the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act is to ensure that research on CBD and other potentially beneficial marijuana-derived substances is based on sound science while simultaneously reducing the regulatory barriers associated with conducting research on marijuana.
Currently, both marijuana and CBD containing more than 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (commonly known as THC) are classified as Schedule I drugs. As a result, research is subject to stringent regulations that can pose an obstacle to medical research.
CBD is largely unregulated. But thousands of parents nationwide have used CBD oil to help their children who suffer from intractable epilepsy. Few marijuana-derived products have been FDA-approved, and there is little available information about their interactions with other medications, appropriate doses or delivery mechanisms.
Click here to view a one-page summary of the bill’s provisions.
In addition to Feinstein, Grassley and Schatz, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Jon Tester (D -Mont.) and Lisa Murkowski (R- Alaska).
