Washington, DC: A scientific protocol to investigate the types of emissions produced by cannabis vaporization has been rejected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) after an 18 month regulatory delay.
The protocol, submitted to NIDA in February 2004 on behalf of Chemic Laboratories in Massachusetts, sought to purchase 10 grams of marijuana from the agency so that researchers could conduct a chemical assessment of the cannabis vaporization process. Previous studies have shown vaporization to suppress respiratory toxins by heating cannabis to a temperature where cannabinoid vapors form (typically around 180-190 degrees Celsius), but below the point of combustion where noxious smoke and associated toxins (i.e., carcinogenic hydrocarbons) are produced (near 230 degrees Celsius). A 1999 review of marijuana and health by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine strongly urged the government to conduct research into non-smoked, rapid-onset delivery systems for cannabis.
In it’s letter rejecting the protocol, NIDA claimed that the study would “not add to the scientific knowledge base in a significant way.” Chemic Laboratories says that it will challenge NIDA’s decision.
“Once again, the government has displayed its bad faith by creating a Catch-22 for medical marijuana,” said California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer, who co-sponsored the protocol in conjunction with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). “First, it claimed that marijuana couldn’t be used as a medicine because there weren’t sufficient FDA studies of safety and efficacy. Then it refused to provide marijuana to conduct the studies. Next it contended that marijuana was inappropriate for FDA approval in the first place due to the dangers of smoking. Now it is blocking the very studies called for by the Institute of Medicine to develop non-smoked alternatives to smoking.”
Last week, Gieringer and MAPS Executive Director Rick Doblin testified before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that a private, independent source of cannabis is necessary in order to conduct the clinical trials required to establish cannabis as an FDA-approved drug. Currently, all federally approved research on cannabis must utilize cannabis supplied by and grown under contract with NIDA. However, according to the agency’s director, it is “not NIDA’s mission to study the medical uses of marijuana.”
For more information, please contact either Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500 or California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer at (415) 563-5858.