Inside the Debate about Funding Medical Marijuana

Guest: Misty D. Smith, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Utah; Emilie Campbell, advocate for medical marijuana and mother of a child with severe epilepsy Veterans groups have been pushing for medical marijuana to be studied as an alternative to opioids and anti-depressants for treating PTSD and chronic pain. The US Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week it will not conduct that research, partly because the federal government still considers marijuana an illegal and highly dangerous drug in the same category as heroin. But across the country, research on marijuana’s medicinal properties is being done with government approval. It does requires jumping through a lot of extra hoops, and some members of Congress are trying to make it easier. We talk to a researcher who works with medical marijuana and a mother of a child who has benefited from its use.