The U.S. cannabis industry is growing and cannabis use is rising as more states legalize medical and recreational uses, but many U.S. researchers still face legal barriers to researching the retail cannabis products that are available to consumers. Due to state or federal restrictions, researchers may only have access to specific government-grown samples, which will not always reflect the same strains and product types used by the average consumer. A provision in the recently passed national infrastructure bill could allow more researchers to study retail-level products and lead to the establishment of a national clearinghouse for cannabis samples from across the country.
H.R.3684, which was passed on Nov. 5, 2021, requires the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services, to produce a report containing methods and recommendations for improving access to retail cannabis samples for impaired driving studies. The report would also contain recommendations for establishing a national clearinghouse that would collect and distribute samples of cannabis products that are legally available to patients and consumers on a retail basis. Lastly, the report would outline methods for facilitating access to cannabis samples for researchers in states that have not legalized cannabis, for the purpose of studying impaired driving. The provision is contained in Section 25026 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The bill has passed in the Senate and the House and now awaits presidential approval. The report on improving researchers’ access to cannabis samples would need to be submitted to the relevant congressional committees within 2 years of the date that the bill goes into effect. An additional provision under Section 24102 of the same bill recommends that states that have legalized medicinal or recreational marijuana consider implementing programs that educate drivers on the risks of marijuana-impaired driving.