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U.S. NEWS Friday 12 July 2019

U.S. growing largest crop of marijuana for research in 5 years

By CARLA K. JOHNSON in Arizona asked the U.S.
AP Medical Writer Court of Appeals for the
The U.S. government is District of Columbia to or-
growing the largest crop of der the DEA to process the
research marijuana in five applications.
years, responding to inter- “We are still working
est in varieties with high lev- through the process and
els of THC and CBD. those applications remain
The government is the only under review,” said DEA
source of pot for nearly all spokeswoman Katherine
research in the U.S., while it Pfaff in an email Thursday.
still considers it illegal and She declined to comment
dangerous. on the litigation.
Scientists have asked for In response to questions
weed that more closely from the AP, NIDA said
matches what’s sold in there had been no major
states that have legalized This 2014 photo provided by the University of Mississippi shows marijuana plants growing at the Ole increase in demand for
medical or recreational Miss medicinal gardens in University, Miss. cannabis by researchers in
marijuana, the National In- Associated Press recent years. Last year, 20
stitute on Drug Abuse said different forms. federal regulators for two chronic back pain. researchers got shipments
in an email Thursday to The The crop will be divided be- rare seizure disorders and Lindley and other research- of government marijua-
Associated Press. tween high THC and high researchers are pursuing ers want others besides the na, much of it from frozen
The federal agency said CBD varieties with “recent research on it for other con- University of Mississippi to cannabis grown in 2014.
it plans to grow 2,000 kilo- interest (in CBD) as a po- ditions. Others are focused get federal authorization to Since 2010, the number of
grams (4,409 pounds) this tential medicine for a num- on THC. grow research pot. researchers receiving gov-
year at the University of Mis- ber of medical conditions,” “We want to study what The U.S. Drug Enforcement ernment marijuana has
sissippi, which holds the sole NIDA said. The compound our patients are using,” said Administration created ranged from eight to 21.
federal contract for pro- THC causes pot’s mind-al- University of Colorado Assis- an application process for Researchers should be able
ducing marijuana. That’s tering effect; CBD doesn’t tant Professor Emily Lindley, growers, but has not acted to obtain material from the
enough for 5 million joints, get people high. who is investigating mari- on more than two dozen new crop in the fall after
although the government Last year, a CBD-based juana with high THC as an applications. In June, Scott- harvest and analyses are
provides the marijuana in drug was approved by alternative to opioids for sdale Research Institute completed, NIDA said.q