The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a large-scale transportation bill that includes a provision that would allow researchers to access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries in order to effectively study impaired driving. After clearing the committee last month, the chamber passed the legislation in a 221-201 vote. A Senate committee also recently advanced its version of the transportation proposal that contains substantively identical language around cannabis. Under the House-passed measure, a federal report would need to be issued with recommendations on establishing a national clearinghouse with samples of different types of marijuana that scientists from non-legal states could obtain for studies. Specifically, it mandates that the Transportation Secretary would need to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Justice Department to develop a public report within two years of the bill’s enactment that includes recommendations on allowing scientists to access retail-level marijuana to study impaired driving. The report should also explore “establishing a national clearinghouse to collect and distribute samples and strains of marijuana for scientific research,” the text of the proposal states, and that would include cannabis from state-legal markets.
House Approves Bill To Let Researchers Access Marijuana From State-Legal Dispensaries
