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State Forms Task Force On Medical Benefits Of Marijuana

Jon Rosman
/
OPB

The state is creating a task force to research the medical and health properties of cannabis.

The legislature last session asked the Oregon Health Authority to create the task force. Doctor Katrina Hedburg with the OHA's Public Health Division says it will look at gaps in knowledge and research about the plant.  Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, there's not a lot of research available.

Hedburg says there is one FDA approved medication under the brand Marinol. It's made from THC, a chemical in marijuana.

Hedburg: "So there has been some data very specifically on THC. But I do know when people are talking about medical marijuana they're often talking about the biologic, the plant, extracts from the plant itself etcetera. That kind of research we have not been able to conduct it in the United States because of the limitation that it has been a schedule 1 substance."

Oregon's task force will consist of 15 members appointed by the Governor.
 

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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