By Jacob M. Vigil, PhD, & Sarah S. Stith, PhD
Volume 4 Issue 5
Unfortunately, when it comes to the use of medical Cannabis, both the long and short answers are ‘No!’ Not only is the federal government effectively blocking scientists and health providers from advancing research on medical Cannabis, but neither the federal nor the New Mexico state government are currently regulating the safety of the medication itself. The dried Cannabis flower and Cannabis-based products sold in New Mexico medical Cannabis dispensaries may have unknown effects, may not contain as much CBD and THC as advertised, and could be contaminated with E. coli, Salmonella and other forms of toxins that pose serious health risks to patients.
One the federal side, the United Sates government continues to stifle progressive advancements in medical Cannabis research through a system of excessive and unnecessary procedures that are designed to implicitly deter and effectively reject the majority of formal research requests to investigate whole, natural Cannabis sativa. For example, apart from the conventional and reasonable practice of obtaining Institutional Review Board approval from a qualified Humans Protections Committee such as those found at major research universities, a scientist designing a clinical trial on the effects of Cannabis sativa must complete several additional, independent, and lengthy procedures that include filing for an Investigational New Drug (IND) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), registering the study and obtaining approval from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and obtaining permission to purchase the Cannabis sativa to be used in the study through the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). Unfortunately, the only Cannabis currently available through NIDA is significantly less potent than the average products you find in dispensaries.
We recently described these problems in a brief article published in Science Magazine in June, 2016 (Stith & Vigil, 2016). The following month, the Director of the Division of Extramural Research for NIDA (Dr. Susan Weiss), cited our work in her sworn testimony to the U.S. Senate to justify the need for medical Cannabis research reform laws. Soon after, the DEA announced a policy change designed to foster research by expanding the number of DEA-registered marijuana manufacturers and legalizing industrial hemp cultivation for research purposes under certain conditions.
Though helpful, these changes do not directly address the other major reason for the current scarcity of knowledge on medical Cannabis information; the inability to obtain funding to conduct the research itself. Because the federal research regulating agencies that authorize legal access to Cannabis sativa in the U.S. have been historically opposed to therapeutic uses of the plant there are slim to no (governmental) funding mechanisms for scientists studying whole, natural Cannabis as a pharmacological agent. In order to address this problem, we created the University of New Mexico, Medical Cannabis Research Fund (MCRF) to enable the general public to directly fund the types of research they feel will most benefit themselves, their family members, and their community. Donations to the MCRF support the direct costs of scientifically valid and unbiased research on medical Cannabis at UNM that advance basic and clinical knowledge on the safety and potential medicinal uses of Cannabis. The MCRF also supports student training, academic assistantships, and professional programs that advance research on medical Cannabis. If you would like to learn more about or donate to the MCRF, please go to mcrf.unm.edu.
Aside from these barriers to conducting the research necessary to protect patients, both the federal and state government refuse to ensure the immediate safety of the medications currently being sold in Cannabis dispensaries throughout New Mexico. There are no federal mandates for ensuring the contents (e.g., THC levels) and extent of bacterial exposure in Cannabis-based products sold in medical dispensaries. At the state level the New Mexico Department of Health has mandated that “All dried usable cannabis and all concentrated cannabis derived products produced, sold, or distributed by a non-profit producer shall be (tested for potency and microbiological contamination) by an approved laboratory.” Shockingly, this mandate is not enforced, resulting in a lack of product testing by some businesses (and even industry leaders) involved in Cannabis production and sales in New Mexico. In other words, the Cannabis products sold to medical Cannabis patients at New Mexico dispensaries may be dirtier than the raw beef at the grocery store, with just as much (or as little) cannabinoid contents!
Further, a loophole in the New Mexico testing mandates has led some producers to use batches of Cannabis flower, which did not pass potency and contaminant testing thresholds, to make products, such as edibles, which are rarely tested for microbiological contamination in New Mexico. In other words, the brownies you buy at your favorite dispensary could be made using Cannabis plant material found to be contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella. Because edibles and other products can be contaminated at any stage in the manufacturing process (e.g., live plant development, extraction, cooking, storage), it is crucial that all end products sold to patients be tested for potency and microbiological contamination exposure; otherwise, patient safety cannot be guaranteed. Tens of thousands of people die from bacterial infections in the U.S. each year, and the current lack of proper testing of Cannabis in New Mexico is a humanitarian (and legal) disaster waiting to happen. One might therefore presume that proper testing is costly and inconvenient. This is not the case. There are several labs in New Mexico that test Cannabis and Cannabis-based products, with some conducting highly sensitive potency and contaminant testing services for less than $100 (e.g., Scientific Base Solutions in Albuquerque).
Currently, both federal and state governments face little incentive to increase the safety of medical Cannabis in this country. Regulators do not have the time or desire to enforce the regulations and suppliers welcome the lower costs associated with the lack of any safety controls. Patients so far have had little voice in these matters. It is time for that to change! You can donate to the Medical Cannabis Research Fund; you can contact Congress and/or the New Mexico Department of Health demanding Cannabis product testing enforcement, and you can refuse to purchase untested products, thus forcing dispensaries to demonstrate a true concern for your health and safety.
