FEDS’ BURIED MED MEMO REVEALED

A newly released 2018 U.S. Justice Department memo helps explain why advancing MED research has been such an ordeal for advocates.
NBC 

The legal issues are complex and obscure. In a very-thorough blog post, lawyer Shuki Greer explains how the memo revealed Justice’s “predetermined bias” against research.

• The document marks a victory in psychiatrist Dr. Sue Sisley’s long legal battle to test MED on PTSD sufferers. Among the other issues involved, Sisley has said the cannabis grown at the University of Mississippi, the country’s only federally legal pot-farm, is inadequate for her study. 
• This NBC story does a good job contextualizing the issue within the broader fight for MED access. Politico has more.
• The NBC story also includes a great interview with University of Mississippi Professor Mahmoud ElSohly, who defends what is surely the world’s most maligned pot crop. He called the disparagement “propaganda” by legalization supporters.
• The memo involves whether a system of independent universities producing MED crops is compliant with America’s international treaty obligations. “We suspect that coming up with a legal memo that he could use to justify his delay tactics certainly gave [then-Attorney General Jeff] Sessions some sly satisfaction,” Greer, the lawyer, writes.
• Greer suggests this will bring more openness to future federal memos involving cannabis, though it’s not clear whether it will accelerate MED research.

In another complex legal case, Canna Law Blog looks at the bankruptcy filing of United Cannabis Corp. , a Colorado company involved in a closely-watched intellectual property dispute.