The US Senate voted Tuesday, August 10 and approved a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. In the bill, there is a provision allowing researchers to study cannabis purchased from legally operating dispensaries. This would provide researchers with the same product consumers are using, instead of government grown cannabis. This provision is very similar to what the House has previously approved. The Senate has also discussed research provisions at length.
Additionally, an amendment added to the infrastructure bill encourages states with legal cannabis to create laws educating the public on impaired driving. Finally, a final amendment would help to streamline the research process for cannabis and cannabinoids like CBD. Certain roadblocks became removed to allow study access. This amendment appears similar to what Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., advocated for in the House.
Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s amendment tried to open up research access to more than just cannabis research, but other Schedule I drugs. These include psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and other psychedelics in addition to cannabis. Unfortunately the representative’s amendment was removed from the final version of the appropriations bill. However, it looks like the Senate agreed with part of her stance and is moving forward with cannabis research.
Infrastructure Bill
Under the Senate’s infrastructure bill, the transportation secretary would work with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Together, they would develop a public report within two years of the bill’s passage. In the report, it would include recommendations on allowing scientists access to retail cannabis. Researchers would first look into impaired driving and study the potential side effects of consuming cannabis and driving.
The report must also include a recommendation for establishing “a national clearinghouse to collect and distribute samples and strains of marijuana for scientific research that includes marijuana and products containing marijuana lawfully available to patients or consumers in a state on a retail basis.”
Researchers from states that don’t currently offer legal cannabis would have access to this clearinghouse. They would also be protected under federal law from legal ramifications for using cannabis in nonlegal states, only if it is for research purposes.
Future
While the U.S. Congress is still slow to decriminalize and potentially legalize cannabis across the country, they are still taking steps forward. Take, for instance, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. With two other Senators, he introduced a draft of a legalization bill recently and is looking for public feedback. There is hope for cannabis reform. However it may take longer than activists want.
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