After seemingly countless debates and biases concerning the pros and cons of medical marijuana over the last two decades, the Obama Administration has decided to lift the ban on cannabis-related scientific research. Lifting these restrictions represents a giant step forward for the scientific community at large, which will enable researchers to perform double-blind studies, ones that will reveal a comprehensive understanding of both the risks and the benefits of consuming the substance.
In the past, approving these research studies were based on Public Health Service reviews that often hindered the progress of getting to the core of this hot-button issue. Michael Botticelli, aka the White House drug czar, indicated that the Obama Administration has supported further scientific research in hopes of ascertaining a realistic assessment of its healing properties and potentially harmful side-effects as well.
Botticelli also stated that bypassing the Public Health Service’s recent review will allow further research to move forward sans the red tape, thus determining whether or not cannabis is a safe and effective medicine. As it stands, marijuana is still classified as a schedule 1 narcotic and is lumped into the same category as heroin, which is highly addictive, and LSD, an extremely powerful hallucinogen; marijuana, on the other hand, has been linked to alleviating seizure symptoms, stuttering disorders, autism, anxiety, stress, and Alzheimer’s disease.
As a result of in-depth future research, setting the record straight on marijuana can eventually lead to FDA approval, much like any other prescription medication on the market today. Based on scientific data, the general public will also be able to make informed decisions in terms of legalization and/or prescribed dosages geared towards improving the quality of people’s lives in the here and now.