Anything Can Happen –

Mar. 30, 2020 – Other countries, including Canada and Australia, have licensed growers for research cannabis without taking possession of the drug, Sisley says. “All of them have looked at the [Single Convention] language and decided that this treaty was never designed to block research.”

The new rules may immediately eliminate several applicants from contention. A requirement that growers have never broken federal law, if enforced, would be a stumbling block for companies that already produce or distribute marijuana in states where it is legal. (Although it hasn’t been an enforcement priority for DEA, growing, selling, and even possessing cannabis is still a violation of federal law, even in states that have legalized it.)

Sisley says SRI complies with federal law and has not yet grown any marijuana, but she says the requirement would exclude experienced growers who already produce high-quality cannabis. “They would be ideal participants,” she says. “We’re trying to actually replicate what people are using in the real world.”

@ScienceMag