US (CO): State, stakeholders discuss new marijuana research licenses

Cannabis's federally illegal status makes it difficult to conduct licensed clinical research on the plant and products made from it, hampering medical and commercial advancements in cultivation, extraction and ingestion. Colorado legislators, tired of waiting for the feds, passed a bill in May 2017 that allows for state-approved research-and-development licenses for clinical studies on potency, chemical composition, agriculture and other areas.

HB 1367 created a licensing program within the Marijuana Enforcement Division that will issue research-and-development licenses for public and private studies by nonprofit and government organizations and commercial businesses. But even though the bill passed months ago, its statutory language is still being tweaked; the program won't start before 2018.

Governor John Hickenlooper didn't sign the bill before sending it to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office to become law. Explaining his lack of a signature, Hickenlooper called on the bill's sponsors to present clarifying legislation at the start of next year's legislative session, since the wording in late amendments had unintentionally limited the MED's power to enforce contamination and potency rules.

When that legislation is introduced in early January, sections on the proposed licensee program will be a little different from what was originally envisioned. As part of the MED's 2017 rule-making sessions, state officials, industry stakeholders and health professionals met on Thursday, September 14, to make some changes to how cannabis research will be approved and conducted in Colorado.

Read more at Westword (Thomas Mitchell)