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WASHINGTON - April 7 - Medical marijuana advocates issued a report today aimed at drawing attention to the federal government's monopoly on the production of marijuana for medical research. The 14-page report, entitled "Obstruction of Medical Cannabis Research in the U.S.," highlights the federal effort to impede therapeutic research on marijuana and exposes a conflict of interest for University of Mississippi professor Mahmoud ElSohly, who holds an exclusive cultivation license issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the national medical marijuana advocacy group that issued the report, draws attention to the ways in which the federal monopoly impedes meaningful research and points to the need for a new policy that can be implemented under the Obama Administration. "In the United States, research is stalled," said Caren Woodson, ASA's Government Affairs Director. "And, in some cases, research is blocked by a complicated federal approval process, which restricts access to research-grade marijuana."

Specifically, the report emphasizes the way in which government agencies -- namely the DEA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) -- selectively delay the process by which researchers obtain marijuana for FDA-approved studies. The report also highlights a federal "double standard" on medical marijuana illustrated by testimony from public officials who concede to marijuana's therapeutic efficacy as long as it is produced in pill.

The report also emphasizes a 2007 ruling by the DEA's own Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that "the existing supply of marijuana [for research] is not adequate" and that an expansion of such research is "in the public interest." Judge Bittner's recommendations were in response to an application by University of Massachusetts at Amherst professor Lyle Craker to be another cultivator of marijuana for FDA-approved studies. The application was denied by the DEA in the final weeks of the Bush Administration and is currently being appealed. In March 2009, the Los Angeles Times editorialized that, "The attorney general (Holder) should heed calls to end the DEA's obstruction of serious research into the medicinal value of marijuana."

Perhaps most alarming is the report's exposure of the federal license that enables professor ElSohly to exclusively produce marijuana for the pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt, a subsidiary of Tyco International. This arrangement appears to be for the purpose of bringing to market a generic form of Marinol (a pill of THC, the active compound in marijuana, suspended in oil) due to go off-patent in 2011, thereby directly enriching ElSohly at a price that he and/or the federal government sets. To enable this scheme, the U.S. government has requested the United Nations increase a quota (from past years) for marijuana production by 900 percent. The request to increase federal marijuana production is a requirement of the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Recommendations outlined in the report include, implementation of Judge Bittner's 2007 recommendations, streamlining the approval process for obtaining research-grade marijuana, and ultimately a removal of marijuana from the list of Schedule I substances, so that it can be made available to all who would benefit from its therapeutic properties. "The current research challenge is to conduct large-scale human clinical trials that evaluate the remarkable range of potential applications for cannabis-based treatments to specific medical conditions," continued Woodson.

Further information:
ASA report on the obstruction of medical cannabis research in the US: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downl ... Report.pdf

DEA Administrative Law Judge Bittner 2007 ruling: http://www.maps.org/ALJfindings.pdf

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Americans for Safe Access is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

never mind that the US government has a patent on cannabinoids, the people who are getting rich off prohibition want to get richer, MARInol is ok but MARIjuana gets you jail time? does no one see the hypocracy!!!!

NirvanaEJ wrote:never mind that the US government has a patent on cannabinoids, the people who are getting rich off prohibition want to get richer, MARInol is ok but MARIjuana gets you jail time? does no one see the hypocracy!!!!

I think we all do

NirvanaEJ wrote:never mind that the US government has a patent on cannabinoids, the people who are getting rich off prohibition want to get richer, MARInol is ok but MARIjuana gets you jail time? does no one see the hypocracy!!!!

I sure do, Nirvana. Personally, I am convinced it's all about money and greed. If cannabis were to be made legal, within just a few years it would turn the corporate greed upside down. They would lose sooooo much business and money that they would not survive. There are so many uses for cannabis, that the world would completely change, as we know it, for the benefit of the people; not for the benefit of those with corporate greed or those in political power.
We all need to educate ourselves about the many benefits of legal cannabis and then pass on our knowledge to others that dont know. Pot n Peace.

sure do, Nirvana. Personally, I am convinced it's all about money and greed. If cannabis were to be made legal, within just a few years it would turn the corporate greed upside down. They would lose sooooo much business and money that they would not survive. There are so many uses for cannabis, that the world would completely change, as we know it, for the benefit of the people; not for the benefit of those with corporate greed or those in political power.
We all need to educate ourselves about the many benefits of legal cannabis and then pass on our knowledge to others that dont know. Pot n Peace.

Unfortunately, IMHO, most capitalists are fucking greedy cunts and they would NOT pass up the opportunity to make money on legal grass. Although, some pharm firms might fight the legalization process tooth and nail, but there would be other firms (wanting to capitalize on cannabis market) who would take advantage of legal grass. So greed would still persist.

Large firms would have huge advantages (i.e. economies of scale, resources, etc.) to produce inexpensive (and probably chemical laden) cannabis.

BUT, if they grew it in a certifiably organic manner, then it might make for an inexpensive alternative to growing your own. (Compare with liquor stores. Most urban residents simply do not have the room, nor the time, to setup their own stills and brew their own spiriits, so they pop down to the local booze shop. If they had weed shops, then one could pop down and score, no mess, no hassle.)

When grown in a greenhouse, the cost per kilo, can go down to about $30.00, so big corporations could have huge greenhouses growing huge amounts of grass, and the economies of scale could mean that the prices charged would be reasonable. (Also, since consumers could grow their own, the firms would NOT be able to significantly overcharge or they would go bankrupt. Since demand for their product would plummet, if they did not choose an appropriate price.)

I think the biggest proponents of prohibiton are:
1) The police/DEA, jail industry (Note in US, they have tons of private industry jails, and, since the Yanks jail huge numbers of people, this is big buisness. One firm who runs jails is called "Wackinhut", which IMO sounds like the name suitable for a porn theater )

They have a vested interest in keeping prohibition.
Their budgets are derived by showing demand for their services and, since they demand more money to fight the "problem", they do not want to see the "problem" of cannabis dissapear.

2) The gangs/criminals which currently make huge profits on drugs.
Legalization would mean their business would totally dry up, so they want prohibiton forever.

3) Religious goofs and some other killjoys, for obvious reasons.

As to the marinol vs marijuana, you could get jail time, if you were in possession of marinol without a prescription for it (I think it would be listed as a scheduled drug). I do agree, that since marinol is a pharmaceutical, the government does treat it differently, but the US government has such a history of demonizing cannabis, that it seems consistent with their polices of the last 70 years.