The current schedule 1 status strictly limits the ability to perform medical studies on cannabis medical applications, and other benefits and harms cannabis may pose.
- Present law requires approval by the DEA and FDA, and can only procure cannabis via federally-approved production in cooperation with the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA).
- Cannabis produced for research is not comparable to cannabis used in adult-use and medical markets nationwide.
- DEA’s past failures to expand federally-approved production of cannabis have further limited the productivity of their research.
- These limitations on cannabis have caused many of the benefits and dangers of cannabis to remain unknown.
This proposal would direct the Comptroller General to conduct an evaluation on the societal impact of legalization of adult-use cannabis in two years. Evaluation will include a number of societal metrics that may be impacted by legalization:
- Traffic-related deaths and injuries
- Hospitalizations and poison control center calls
- Violent crime rates
- Employment statistics
- Rates of cannabis use
- Etc.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will conduct research on the impacts of cannabis, and the effects of different types of cannabis on an annual basis concerning:
- The effects of cannabis on the human brain
- The impact on various health conditions
- The identification of potential medical benefits of cannabis
The Department of Transportation and HHS would be required to collect data on cannabis-impared driving and research an impairment standard for driving under the influence of cannabis.
The proposal would like to procure robust funding for research into the public health and safety of cannabis. Funding for this research will be pushed towards Historically Black Colleges and Universities.