Bipartisan bill would advance research into medical benefits of cannabidiol for epilepsy patients

Research into the potential medical benefits of marijuana-derived substances like cannabidiol (CBD) would be supported under legislation recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) with support from U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved any drug products containing CBD, the substance has been used to treat children with intractable epilepsy with promising results. CBD is currently classified as a Schedule I narcotic, which creates barriers to medical research into its potential medicinal benefits.

Grassley and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act to address regulatory barriers to research of CBD and to better understand its potential benefits. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was among the bill’s cosponsors.

“When it comes to our nation’s efforts to cure diseases, we shouldn’t let regulations be a roadblock to legitimate and responsible medical research,” Tillis said. “The Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act is a common sense, bipartisan effort to remove unnecessary barriers to give researchers an improved ability to study the potential benefits and risks of cannabidiol and other components that are derived from the marijuana plant.”

Under the bill, the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services would be directed to analyze the potential medical benefits of CBD within a year, and CBD research could be conducted under schedule II registration to ease regulatory barriers.

“The parents of children with severe epilepsy and other conditions are interested in cannabidiol to try to ease their children’s symptoms,” Grassley said. “I understand their interest. Research is necessary to determine the potential medical value of cannabidiol, and wherever possible, the government should help facilitate the scientific research needed to give these parents the answers they need.”

The bill outlines a pathway for commercial production of FDA-approved medications derived from marijuana, and it would allow for the possession of non-psychoactive components of marijuana, like CBD oil, to treat epilepsy.