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Lawyers representing the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will make oral arguments before DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner on Dec. 12-16 to support a decision to deny Prof. Lyle Craker a license to grow medicinal cannabis for research at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, under contract to a non-profit organization.
The hearings, which will last five days, will feature only DEA witnesses. Among them will be Dr. ElSohly of the University of Mississippi who is the only person in the U.S. with a license to grow "marijuana" for research. Dr. ElSohly is under contract to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which has been widely criticized for refusing to supply marijuana to some privately-funded research projects, and for the low quality and limited variety of the crop.
While the legal battle has been fought for over four years, thirty-five Members of Congress have recently signed a letter to the DEA urging the granting of Professor Craker's license. In the letter they wrote:
"At present, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has an unjustifiable monopoly on the production of marijuana for legitimate medical and research purposes in the United States, grown under contract to NIDA at the University of Mississippi. Federal law clearly requires adequate competition in the manufacture of Schedule I and II substances. (See 21 U.S.C. 823(a)(1); see also 21 C.F.R. 1301.33(b).)
The licensing of Prof. Craker's facility would provide privately-funded sponsors of FDA-approved research the necessary opportunity to conduct studies with a strain of marijuana of their own choosing, with immediate access to the strain for all FDA-approved studies and for possible prescription use. None of this is the case under NIDA's monopoly. Until an alternative source of supply is available, important privately-funded research into the therapeutic effects of marijuana for patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, or other diseases will not be initiated."
Other groups including Americans for Tax Reform, American Medical Students Association, California Medical Association, Lymphoma Foundation of America, New Mexico Nurses Association, North Carolina Nurses Association, United Methodist Church (with more than eight million members) and Wisconsin Nurses Association have written the DEA in support of Craker's license. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform wrote recently,
"Scientific research on agricultural products should not be influenced by politics. If the test subject in question were dandelions, there would be no controversy here. The fact that some choose to abuse the cannabis plant illegally is immaterial. The use of controlled substances for legitimate research purposes is well-established, and has yielded a number of miracle medicines widely available to patients and doctors. This case should be no different. It's in the public interest to end the government monopoly on marijuana legal for research."
The case is heading into a final phase and a recommendation is expected to be made early next year on whether the DEA should have approved Professor Craker's application.
More background on the case including transcripts from earlier hearings may be found at: Sign-On Letter Supporting Proposed UMASS Amherst Marijuana Production Facility
The public may attend the hearing at the Judge's discretion. To attend, call Nicole Stodutl at 202-307-8188 for security clearance.
Complete Title: DEA to Argue Against UMass Growing of Medicinal Cannabis at Hearing Dec. 12-16; Grover Norquist, Medical Groups, Members of Congress Tell DEA They Support Expanded Research
Contact: Rick Doblin, 617-484-8711, or Lyle Craker, 413-545-2347
Source: U.S. Newswire (Wire)
Published: December 5, 2005
Copyright: 2005 U.S. Newswire
Contact: info@usnewswire.com
Website: https://www.usnewswire.com/
The hearings, which will last five days, will feature only DEA witnesses. Among them will be Dr. ElSohly of the University of Mississippi who is the only person in the U.S. with a license to grow "marijuana" for research. Dr. ElSohly is under contract to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which has been widely criticized for refusing to supply marijuana to some privately-funded research projects, and for the low quality and limited variety of the crop.
While the legal battle has been fought for over four years, thirty-five Members of Congress have recently signed a letter to the DEA urging the granting of Professor Craker's license. In the letter they wrote:
"At present, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has an unjustifiable monopoly on the production of marijuana for legitimate medical and research purposes in the United States, grown under contract to NIDA at the University of Mississippi. Federal law clearly requires adequate competition in the manufacture of Schedule I and II substances. (See 21 U.S.C. 823(a)(1); see also 21 C.F.R. 1301.33(b).)
The licensing of Prof. Craker's facility would provide privately-funded sponsors of FDA-approved research the necessary opportunity to conduct studies with a strain of marijuana of their own choosing, with immediate access to the strain for all FDA-approved studies and for possible prescription use. None of this is the case under NIDA's monopoly. Until an alternative source of supply is available, important privately-funded research into the therapeutic effects of marijuana for patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, or other diseases will not be initiated."
Other groups including Americans for Tax Reform, American Medical Students Association, California Medical Association, Lymphoma Foundation of America, New Mexico Nurses Association, North Carolina Nurses Association, United Methodist Church (with more than eight million members) and Wisconsin Nurses Association have written the DEA in support of Craker's license. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform wrote recently,
"Scientific research on agricultural products should not be influenced by politics. If the test subject in question were dandelions, there would be no controversy here. The fact that some choose to abuse the cannabis plant illegally is immaterial. The use of controlled substances for legitimate research purposes is well-established, and has yielded a number of miracle medicines widely available to patients and doctors. This case should be no different. It's in the public interest to end the government monopoly on marijuana legal for research."
The case is heading into a final phase and a recommendation is expected to be made early next year on whether the DEA should have approved Professor Craker's application.
More background on the case including transcripts from earlier hearings may be found at: Sign-On Letter Supporting Proposed UMASS Amherst Marijuana Production Facility
The public may attend the hearing at the Judge's discretion. To attend, call Nicole Stodutl at 202-307-8188 for security clearance.
Complete Title: DEA to Argue Against UMass Growing of Medicinal Cannabis at Hearing Dec. 12-16; Grover Norquist, Medical Groups, Members of Congress Tell DEA They Support Expanded Research
Contact: Rick Doblin, 617-484-8711, or Lyle Craker, 413-545-2347
Source: U.S. Newswire (Wire)
Published: December 5, 2005
Copyright: 2005 U.S. Newswire
Contact: info@usnewswire.com
Website: https://www.usnewswire.com/
