The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency on Friday approved the first-ever controlled clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of marijuana in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers have been working for nearly 10 years to get DEA approval for such a study.

One of the researchers on the team is Dr. Sue Sisley who was fired from her position as associate professor of internal medicine and psychiatry at the University of Arizona for advocating for more research on medical marijuana.

According to The Denver Post, Sisley and her research team plan to enroll 76 veterans to take part in the study at clinics in Baltimore and Phoenix. The placebo-controlled study will try to ascertain which strains and potencies of marijuana, if any, are best suited to treat PTSD.

The DEA support is important because it allows the researchers to obtain cannabis for testing from the federal government’s marijuana grow operation at the University of Mississippi. The study is one of nine approved for funding by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from a 2014 appropriation of $9 million.

Here are excerpts from other recent cannabis-related news stories.

Utah Democrat Governor’s Nominee Reveals Investigation for Medical Marijuana Use
The Utah Democratic Party’s nominee for governor stunned the state party convention by revealing that his wife is facing a criminal investigation for marijuana use.

“In the last 72 hours, we learned that my wonderful wife of 20 years, Donna, is under investigation for possession of marijuana,” Mike Weinholtz told the crowd.

Weinholtz said his wife has been using marijuana to treat arthritis and chronic pain.

“She has only used cannabis for medical reasons to relieve her chronic pain,” he said to cheers from the audience, adding: “The issue of medical cannabis touches everyone.”

In an interview with FOX 13 on Saturday, Mike and Donna Weinholtz said they learned Wednesday she was facing an investigation by law enforcement and have been cooperative.

“I don’t believe in abusing any substance,” Donna Weinholtz told FOX 13. “I don’t believing in abusing alcohol, I don’t believe in abusing this and that’s not what this is about. This is about being able to sleep, being able to relax and not have the pain from arthritis and I know the folks out there know what I’m talking about.

Read more at Fox13 News.

‘No-Buzz Medical Pot Laws Prove Problematic for Patients, Lawmakers
The idea was intoxicating to lawmakers in more than a dozen states where medical marijuana was a political nonstarter: Give patients with certain severe medical problems access to a type of pot that might provide relief without producing the “high” usually associated with the plant.

…

But two years after 17 Midwestern and Southern states began passing a series of what are known as “CBD-only” medical marijuana laws, many people they were intended to help are rising up in protest. The laws, they say, help few patients, exclude others who could benefit and force residents to commit criminal acts in order to get relief for themselves or their loved ones.

“There is no amount of tweaking to a CBD decriminalization law that will make it work,” said Maria La France of Des Moines, Iowa, who gives her 14-year-old son, Quincy Hostager, an oil derived from marijuana to treat his Dravet syndrome, an intractable form of childhood epilepsy. “I don’t want to break the law, but I have to.”

Read more at nbcnews.com.

Does Marijuana Make You Stupid?
The stereotype of an avid marijuana smoker is not flattering: slow, unmotivated, a little bit dulled by all that weed. But the science to back up this stereotype is far from clear.

Research is mixed as to whether marijuana causes declines in intelligence and functioning over time. Animal studies and some brain scans in humans provide reason for concern: Marijuana is psychoactive, and may cause structural brain changes. In people, weed’s cognitive effects seem to last at least several weeks after use, long after the person stops feeling intoxicated. But only a few studies have revealed insight into whether pot lowers IQ in the long term, and those studies have returned conflicting results.

…

The recreational use of marijuana is now legal in four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Many other states have decriminalized the drug, and some also allow the use of medical marijuana. And a 2013 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, up from a mere 12 percent in 1969. In other words, the drug has never been more mainstream.

Despite the loosened regulations, however, marijuana research has lagged. Much of the reason has to do with the difficulty of getting marijuana for study, said Nick Jackson, a statistician at the University of Southern California and a co-author of one of the few longitudinal studies (which follow people over time) on marijuana use. In fact, there has been about three times more animal research on cocaine than on marijuana.

Read more at livescience.com.

Canada Aims for Marijuana Legalization in 2017
Canada’s Liberal government will introduce a law in spring 2017 to legalize recreational marijuana, it said on Wednesday, fulfilling an election pledge and following several U.S. states in permitting easy access to the drug.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised during last year’s election campaign that his Liberals would legalize recreational marijuana, but the time frame has been unclear. Trudeau has previously admitted to smoking marijuana a few times in his life but said he never enjoyed it much.

Health Minister Jane Philpott, speaking at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said the Canadian law will ensure marijuana is kept away from children and keep criminals from profiting from its sale.

Read more at cnbc.com.

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