US House committee approves research for medical cannabis, psychedelics

A Republican-led Congressional committee approved amendments in a massive defense bill to fund research and a pilot program to study the effects of medical cannabis and psychedelics.

The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday approved the measures from GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Morgan Luttrell of Texas.

Mace, who has been linked as a potential presidential running mate of Donald Trump, previously introduced the States Reform Act on behalf of the U.S. marijuana industry.

The medical marijuana and psychedelics legislation was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense.

The NDAA must be approved annually by Congress.

The medical marijuana-related amendments require:

• The program to cover individuals who receive services from the Veterans Affairs Department.
• The pilot program to be conducted in one or more states with an approved marijuana regulatory program.
• Compiling and publishing relevant data collected by state-approved marijuana regulatory programs.

A clinical study assessing psychedelic treatments would enroll service members only with post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Treatments could include:

• Psilocybin.
• Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine 12 (commonly known as MDMA).
• Ibogaine.
• Dimethyltryptamine (commonly known as DMT).

Lawmakers debated more than 800 amendments in the defense bill markup.

The measure now heads to the House floor.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/us-house-committee-approves-medical-marijuana-psychedelics-research/