Despite intense interest in the medical benefits of marijuana, few scientists are studying it, because the government has always required that such work be paid for by scarce grant money from the National Institutes of Health. The decision was issued as a regulation by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is supported by General Barry McCaffrey, who as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy has been the administration's most ardent opponent of the legalization of medical marijuana. Now, as long as you are willing to show that it is high-quality research and also provide your own funding, you can have access to medical marijuana. Under the ruling, marijuana studies will still be reviewed for their scientific merit, but it will become easier for state and local governments to pay for the research. Experts and government officials hope the studies could some day lead to the development of a new delivery system for marijuana, such as an inhaler, that would enable patients to benefit from its active ingredients without suffering the toxic effects of the smoke.
Some officials already say they hope to take advantage of the new rule.
For years, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has paid a farmer at the University of Mississippi to grow marijuana for research, primarily studies on addiction. In recent years, as interest grew in using marijuana as a medicine, scientists have tried, with limited success, to persuade the National Institutes of Health to pay for the studies. Two years ago, a review by NIH officials reached a similar conclusion. Ill. But some patients complain that the Marinol pills are too potent, leading researchers to theorize that an inhaler, similar to those used by asthma patients, might be a more effective form of treatment. To Be Recognizing that such a method might take years to develop, the Institute of Medicine report recommended that patients who did not respond to other therapy be permitted to smoke marijuana.