Medical marijuana. (photo: Barry Staver)
15 April 15
The National Institute on Drug Abuse now says weed ‘might be useful as medicine’—a dramatic shift from its section on the drug’s ‘misperception of safety’ just weeks ago.
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the movement to end marijuana prohibition continues to steamroll its
way through the United States, a formerly bitter rival may be softening
its stance. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a government agency
tasked with researching and combatting drug abuse, has offered a subtle
change to the language on its page dedicated to marijuana.
On their website, drugabuse.gov, in the language under “How Might Cannabinoids Be Useful As Medicine,” they have noted:
“For instance, recent animal studies have shown
that marijuana extracts may help kill certain cancer cells and reduce
the size of others. Evidence from one cell culture study suggests that
purified extracts from whole-plant marijuana can slow the growth of
cancer cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumors.
Research in mice showed that treatment with purified extracts of THC and
CBD, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of
the radiation (Scott, 2014).”
Viewed on archive.org’s Wayback Machine, the
agency’s former stance is much less positive. For example, a section
visible last month titled “Misperceptions of Safety”—including a chart
that the agency says “could indicate that use of marijuana could begin
to rise again in future years” based on a poll of high schoolers’ views
of marijuana—has been deleted.
Still, NIDA spokesperson Kathryn Kaplan says any changes to the fact sheet don’t necessarily reflect a policy shift.
“NIDA periodically updates its fact sheets to
reflect the most current research. The excerpt you referenced was from a
study that was published in 2014 and we found it to be relevant
information that was worth including on a recent update. The study was
funded by a research grant awarded to W.M. Liu from GW Pharmaceuticals
Ltd., Salisbury, United Kingdom,” Kaplan wrote to The Daily Beast.
“This is not a shift in language or stance, but
rather part of NIDA’s effort to provide the most up to date information
and research to the public.”
Even so, any softening of approach to cannabis is
notable in an agency with a director, Nora D. Volkow, MD, who has been
outspoken on what she perceives to be the inherent dangers of cannabis,
speaking out against it everywhere from dispatches on the NIDA site,
published works in the National Academy of Sciences and New England
Journal of Medicine, and even a feature in National Geographic.
Although the shift happened within the last couple of weeks, the exact date of the change is unclear.
The swap comes the same week as the Drug
Enforcement Administration and the National Institute of Health placed
an order for $69 million worth of legally cultivated weed from the
University of Mississippi for analysis and research. Ole Miss has been
the single official weed supplier to the United States government since
1968, and they are kicking up production to 30,000 cannabis plants both
indoors and “on approximately 12 acres” outdoors. The contract mandates
that the crop remain under tight video monitored security, and the
finished product, “research grade cannabis,” would be “extracted” with
research conducted on both the THC and CBD compounds.
They are also required to undergo the
“manufacturing of cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Standards)-grade
cannabis cigarettes.” This means that, right now, there may be
scientists in a well lit room rolling joint after joint of high-grade
government reefer, with the direct blessing of the federal government.
Last week, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart
signed a proposal to increase federal marijuana cultivation amounts from
its “previously established 2015 quota” of 275 pounds to 882 pounds,
citing “that research and product development involving cannabidiol, is
increasing beyond that previously anticipated.”
Basically, the feds have a supply-and-demand
problem for their pot because of “ongoing and anticipated research
efforts involving marijuana.” And they’re buying it all at a staggering
rate—based on the $69 million in funding—of $78,231 a pound. Ironically,
the current dispensary full retail rate for a pound of high-grade,
lab-tested marijuana would be $6,400.
Twenty-three states have laws allowing the medical
use of cannabis, with four states—Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and
Alaska—legalizing it completely, and 18 have decriminalized small
amounts. More states are set to vote on legalization measures this year.
In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics
urged lawmakers to reschedule pot as a less dangerous drug in order to
make it more readily available for research purposes. Currently, it is
classified Schedule 1 alongside LSD and Ecstasy by the DEA, which means
it has “no currently accepted medical use in the United States.” This
shift in language (or additional language, depending on your
perspective) on the NIDA’s website seems to counter the DEA’s view of
marijuana, and may herald a sea change in the way our government
approaches pot.
Finally.
It continues to amaze me that partisans overlook such deliberate, destructive hypocrisy.
ps. There is evidence that DuhBya did get arrested for drugs (probably cocaine), but his family connections made the charge disappear.