The biggest problem with medical marijuana so far is not so much that it is a controversial topic. It’s the fact that so little research was done on studying the effects of medical marijuana to begin with. Sure, there are plenty of testimonials out there that prove that medical marijuana does work. However, the government tends not to rely on hearsay but on hard numbers. All this might soon change as the University of Arizona has conducted a study that deals with posttraumatic stress disorder and how veterans could cope with it after being prescribed with medical marijuana. Although this doesn’t seem like huge progress at first, keep in mind that, if done well, this study could be the catalyst for more studies on medical marijuana.
National Institute for Drug Abuse
The federal government wasn’t that fond of medical marijuana research until now. That makes perfect sense, as the support for marijuana in the past has been very low. However, today most Americans support marijuana legalization so its safe to say that this kind of research will not bring the Obama administration any negative points. In fact, it just might do the opposite. One specific enemy of the Arizona study has been the Food And Drug Administration. According to federal law, only one farm in Mississippi is allowed to grow cannabis that can be used for government approved research and the National Institute for Drug Abuse has been the only government Agency allowed to run the farm. This Agency hasn’t been very open minded towards researching the benefits of medical marijuana even though it was the only one allowed to do so.
Science Triumphs Over Politics
Suzzane A. Sisley is a clinical assistant professor at the Arizona University and she couldn’t be happier with the current outcome of the entire study, especially because she has been waiting for this moment for three years. She considers this to be a case of science triumphing over politics and that the continuation of similar studies could lead to rapid advancements in the medical marijuana industry. Clearly, the government is starting to accept the fact that medical marijuana could be crucial to the health of many Americans, even though current data shows that over one million U.S. citizens are currently legally taking the drug. It’s a paradox, but one that saved a lot of lives.
It’s obvious opinions are changing and the political climate is shifting accordingly, as this shows that the U.S. government is afraid to take risks but isn’t afraid to do the right thing once it sees the general public endorses a controversial drug. No dramatic changes in drug policy were needed for Sisley to continue with her research. Another paradox is the fact that it was easier for patients to obtain medical marijuana than it was for researchers, when in reality – it should be the other way around.
