Before the voice vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the floor that he was continuing “productive conversations” about broader cannabis reforms he hopes to pass before the end of the session. The probe bill was introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). The goal of the bill, which passed the House in July on a comfortable bipartisan vote of 325-95 under the leadership of Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.), is to facilitate the investigation about cannabis and its potential health benefits. The bill would accomplish this by streamlining the application process for scientific marijuana studies and removing existing barriers to researchers that have stalled the research process for decades. “After decades on the issue of cannabis reform, the dam is finally starting to break. “The passage of my bill to expand medical marijuana and cannabidiol research in the House and Senate represents a historic breakthrough in addressing the federal government’s failed and misguided prohibition of cannabis,” said Blumenauer, founder and co-chair of Congress for cannabis. Feinstein noted that the bill would make it easier to study how these drugs can treat various conditions, giving more patients easy access to safe drugs. “We know that drugs derived from cannabidiol can be effective for conditions such as epilepsy. This bill will help improve current medical CBD practices and develop important new applications. After years of negotiations, I’m glad we’re finally enacting this bill that will lead to critical research that could help millions.” The story continues Grassley said he was grateful the bipartisan bill is now on its way to President Biden. “Since 2015, I have pushed to expand medical research into marijuana derivatives like cannabidiol to better understand their benefits and potential harms.” Schatz joined the happy chorus. “Our bill, which is now about to become law, will remove excessive barriers that make it difficult for researchers to study the effectiveness and safety of marijuana, and we hope it will give patients more treatment options.”
What’s next?
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