Outdated Cannabis Regulations Are Holding Back COVID-19 Research

Van Breemen and his colleagues aren’t the only scientists looking into the possible benefits of cannabis-derived products when it comes to COVID-19. Despite this, many researchers like van Breemen encounter roadblocks on the way to scientific understanding of the plant’s benefits and pitfalls because of federal cannabis prohibition. Advertisement“We weren’t allowed to purify [precursor THC-A] and even test it alone, because it can be converted to THC,” van Breemen previously told Motherboard. Landing federal grant dollars in support of his research also proved tiresome, van Breemen told Motherboard. When asked whether an end to federal prohibition would usher in a new frontier of cannabis research, van Breemen didn’t mince words.