Senate Introduces Medical Marijuana Study Bill

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on Monday introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate that is supposed to make it easier to perform clinical studies to determine the medical uses of marijuana.

Hatch is co-sponsoring the Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2016 with Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Chris Coons, D-Del.

The legislation would reduce some red tape currently faced by those who wish to study the medical benefits of marijuana.

For instance, researchers who can demonstrate that their protocol has been approved by a federal agency such as the Federal Drug Administration would no longer have to undergo a separate research protocol review with the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a summary of the bill’s key provisions on Hatch’s website.

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