cannabisnews.com: San Mateo County Asking Feds to Approve MMJ Study!





San Mateo County Asking Feds to Approve MMJ Study!
Posted by FoM on April 09, 1999 at 22:23:01 PT
Source: SF Gate
San Mateo County is asking federal officials to approve a study researching the effects of medical use of marijuana. The study would involve about 60 patients with cancer and other illnesses and would be administered by the county's health department, said Supervisor Mike Nevin. 
``What we're trying to do from a local level is lead the federal government to do the research to determine if it's worthy of a pharmaceutical designation,'' Nevin said Friday. ``I think the evidence is there.'' The application was submitted to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which provides marijuana for research purposes, about two weeks ago. NIDA is expected to make a decision within a few weeks, said Nevin, who also serves on a state task force studying how to better implement Proposition 215, which allows patients to have and grow marijuana but does not address how it is to be distributed. The Food and Drug Administration would still have to give its own approval. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, despite ballot measures approving its use in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Nevin, a former San Francisco police officer who in the past proposed distributing seized marijuana to patients who need it, said the research application is the first submitted by a California government. He says the timing is ideal, considering last month's report by the Institute of Medicine saying marijuana has medical benefits for people suffering from cancer and AIDS and should undergo scientific trials to see how it works best. Nevin said he's not trying to legalize marijuana, but wants it available to people he says could benefit. ``I think it's the wrong message to kids to talk about legalizing marijuana,'' Nevin said. ``But if it makes a difference to people suffering, God, I want to be there.'' 
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