A group of researchers recently filed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), asking a federal court to force the agency to respond to its application to manufacture marijuana for research purposes.
The researchers argued that cannabis produced by the only federally authorized cultivation facility at the University of Mississippi is of poor quality and inadequate for their clinical trial on the use of marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans.
It’s an argument that’s supported by a recent study, which found that cannabis from the sole approved source is genetically closer to hemp than it is to marijuana that’s available to consumers in state-legal markets—calling into question the applicability of much research to the reality of the cannabis market.
The Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) said it submitted an application to cultivate its own cannabis to DEA about three years ago, around the time that the agency announced that it would be accepting applications for additional research-grade marijuana manufacturers. That application—as well as several letters from members of Congress inquiring about the application process—have gone ignored, SRI said.
Read more at marijuanamoment.net