In a major policy shift, the Clinton administration has decided to release its hold on "research grade" marijuana, making it available to scientists who seek to study its medical benefits. The decision, announced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will open the way to new privately funded research in the field.

The issue has been a contentious and political one abroad as well as the US. Last month, Canadian Health Minister, Allan Rock, authorized the medical use of marijuana (to two AIDS patients) for the first time. In February, United Nations officials called for increased research into its therapeutic benefits, and last year the UK awarded a license to GW Pharmaceuticals to cultivate marijuana and investigate its medical uses. Marijuana reportedly eases pain and quells nausea in cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis patients.

The American clamor for medical marijuana has been bolstered by a March report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which identified the need to study the drug in clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health has already begun testing the effects of marijuana on HIV-associated pain and has called for additional studies (Nature Med. 3, 943; 1997). Several US states have approved laws permitting its medical use, but have been challenged by the federal government (Nature Med. 3, 134; 1997).

For more than 20 years, the production and distribution of marijuana for clinical research in the US has been restricted under federal law, making it all but impossible for non-federally funded researchers to obtain the plant. It is grown by the government in a special plot at the University of Mississippi.

Under the new policy, private researchers, including physicians, will be allowed to purchase and use marijuana for studies. AIDS researcher Donald Abrams, San Francisco General Hospital, who received a rare NIH grant last year to study the use of marijuana in HIV patients, said the government's action "will make it easier" for researchers, but points out that scientists still face the problem of funding. "[This may] eliminate the step of having to apply to the government for a [special] grant, but where are you going to get research funding? Drug companies won't support you—they can't patent marijuana."

In recognizing the need for objective evaluation of the potential medical use of cannabinoids, the HHS states, "If a positive benefit is found, HHS also recognize the need to stimulate development of alternative, safer dosage forms. Researchers seeking access to the drug must be involved in studies that generally follow guidelines from the IOM report.

In other news...

The University of Minnesota is to repay $11,000 to the NIH as a reimbursement for grant money misappropriated by assistant professor Keith Kajander, who died of a cocaine overdose in April.

Kajander used cocaine for pain research, and took receipt of 140 grams of cocaine over a seven-year period; however, a University audit could not determine the quantity used in his experiments, and thus decided that the funds should be returned. An internal Task Force began a review of University use of controlled substances on June 17th.