The Congress ought to Have a Rule: WE Do Not Do Science.
Global Warming Denial, Marijuana Research, Alternative Medicine: How to waste tax dollars on popular causes.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and seven other senators are urging that money be spent on medical marijuana. They have written a letter issued last week to multiple federal drug and health officials.
The NIH uses a highly competitive system to allot research dollars. Taking money put of that system to met some congressman’s interests … unless that reflects a major disease … is another way of spelling P-O-R-K. This group is obviously not competent to distribute sparse research dollars. Their interest sprouts from the hype around medical marijuana. Marijuana is a plant, not a defined chemical. It is a mild and nearly harmless recreational drug that should be and is being legalized.
There is evidence that the plant has active ingredients that have limited therapeutic value but no more reason reason to spend federal money for this than there would be to study garlic. There is certainly no reason at all to focus on the plant as opposed to isolated molecules .. something drug companies should do and are doing because anything they find would be patentable.