The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (H.R. 8454) passed the Senate on November 16th and was signed into law by President Biden on December 2nd. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), passed the House of Representatives in July with a strong bipartisan vote of 325-95. The bill was authored by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD).
The goal of the bill is to facilitate research on marijuana and its potential health benefits. The bill streamlines the application process for scientific marijuana studies and removes barriers that frequently slow the process for research in this field.
FABBS previously signed a letter, led by the American Brain Coalition, advocating for the passage of the bill. Researchers discussed the policy considerations related to widespread marijuana consumption in this archived FABBS webinar (and accompanying Social Science Space article), featuring authors of “The Impact of Marijuana on Cognition, Brain Structure, and Brain Function, and Related Public Policy Implications” published in the FABBS journal Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences (PIBBS).
