Push in Senate to ease barriers to marijuana research with MEDS Act

By Aleta Labak, The Cannabist Staff

There’s a bipartisan push underway in the Senate for easing the path to marijuana research.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, announced Wednesday that he and Sen. Schatz, D-Hawaii, are introducing the Marijuana Effective Drug Study Act of 2017, or MEDS Act. The legislation was previously introduced by Schatz in 2016.

Signing on as co-sponsors are Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Chris Coons, D-Dela.; and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

In a statement filled with weed puns, Hatch said:

“It’s high time to address research into medical marijuana. Our country has experimented with a variety of state solutions without properly delving into the weeds on the effectiveness, safety, dosing, administration, and quality of medical marijuana. All the while, the federal government strains to enforce regulations that sometimes do more harm than good. To be blunt, we need to remove the administrative barriers preventing legitimate research into medical marijuana, which is why I’ve decided to roll out the MEDS…