State-Funded Program Created to Research Marijuana Benefits

Lawmakers in Colorado have approved senate Bill 155, which states that it will fund observational and clinical analysis on the safety and therapeutic benefits of marijuana. Governor John Hickenlooper has since signed the bill into law.

The new program, which hopes to “gather objective scientific research regarding the efficacy of administering marijuana and its component parts as part of medical treatment” will receive up to $10 million from the state’s medical marijuana program fund for research.

A similar study was done in California in recent years in regards to the effects of marijuana in treating such illnesses as multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain. The results were then published in The Open Neurology Journal and said that, “Based on evidence currently available the Schedule 1 classification in not tenable; it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking.” So basically, through clinical trials and tests experts concluded that marijuana does in fact have medicinal value, but the federal government still has it classified as not.