Researchers are finally studying the medicinal effects of marijuana after many years of marijuana advocates begging and pleading for science to investigate what they already knew – that the plant has the power to ease seizures, help people sleep, and much more. But scientists aren’t studying the stuff you can buy on the street or in dispensaries, so can we trust their conclusions?
All it takes is a quick glance at the photo above to realize that scientists are using… well, crap… in their studies. And it’s not their fault; this is the schwag the government provides. It’s full of leaves and stems, it’s lighter in color, and it’s stringy. It’s almost like the government is afraid to give ’em the real stuff.
Scientists are starting to get a little angry about the quality of cannabis they’re being forced to use. You can’t study medical-quality marijuana if you’re being provided with what looks like a bag of oregano.
Sue Sisley is a researcher who has just embarked on a first-of-its-kind clinical trial of government medical marijuana for military veterans suffering with PTSD. The study has its difficulties. Sisley says she once got a batch of federal marijuana that resembled green talcum powder.
She’s not the only one who thinks government weed is a joke. Jake Browne, a cannabis critic for the Denver Post’s Cannabist marijuana news site, says: “That is, flat out, not a usable form of cannabis.”
