DEA Marijuana Neglect Expose By Mariana Van Zeller
PROVIDENCE, RI / ACCESSWIRE / May 31, 2022 / MMJ International Holdings:
As states legalizing marijuana, some as long as 10 years ago, are beginning to now realize the public health and safety implications of a variety of new high-potency products amid questions about a possible link to psychosis.
As mentioned in a recent article by Sara Brittany Somerset from CannaTech Today, MMJ BioPharma Labs recently awarded a DEA schedule 1 cannabis analytical lab license, is perfectly positioned to perform any analytical requirements that the Federal government may impose on the industry at large.
The newer products are called marijuana concentrates and are commonly known as wax and shatter. They can have levels of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, as high as 85 percent to 90 percent. By comparison, researchers say, the marijuana level in a typical joint 20 years ago was closer to 5 percent. The FDA is now imposing cease and desist letters to several companies.
At a January forum, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, raised concerns about the increasingly public consumption of high-potency cannabis
Volkow said she worries that "huge concentrations" of THC could have serious consequences. "We are seeing a very significant rise in psychosis associated with the consumption of marijuana," she said. "And the higher the content of THC, the higher the likelihood of a psychotic episode."
Duane Boise Pres. and Founder of MMJ said " it remains an ongoing research question as to the results that we will find by conducting our FDA sanctioned clinical trials. Whether or not such psychotic episodes can lead to permanent schizophrenia or vomiting illness is yet to be determined."
In a statement to NBC News, Bethany Moore, a spokesperson for the National Cannabis Industry Association, said, "The best way to address these concerns is through proper testing and labeling."
Moore said public safety measures can be imposed effectively only when underground markets are replaced with regulated markets.
But many public health experts have complained that industry backers of legalizing marijuana focus on the cannabis plant and fail to mention that legalization will be accompanied by a flood of cannabis concentrates that these "high-potency cannabis can have lifelong mental health consequences."
MMJ companies is building a center of marijuana excellence in Rhode Island and has filed for FDA sanctioned clinical trials in Multiple Sclerosis and Huntington's Disease. The company is awaiting the final DEA award to cultivate its strain specific marijuana to supply these clinical trials.
Tim Moynahan, chairman of MMJ further stated "MMJ continues its process of scientific drug development and discovery by FDA protocols for the development processes, developing our intellectual property portfolio and following the DEA regulatory manufacturing guidelines".
CONTACT:
Sara Parker
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SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings