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As states legalize marijuana, some as long as 10 years ago, many are beginning to realize the public health and safety implications of a variety of new high-potency products as questions about possible links to psychosis arise.
MMJ BioPharma Labs is positioned to perform analytical requirements that the Federal government may impose on the industry, as it was recently awarded a DEA schedule 1 cannabis analytical lab license.
Some newer concentrates products, commonly known as wax and shatter, can have THC levels as high as 85 to 90 percent. By comparison, researchers say, THC levels of a typical joint 20 years ago were closer to 5 percent.
The FDA is now sending 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. And the higher the content of THC, the higher the likelihood of a psychotic episode."
Duane Boise president and founder of MMJ stated "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."
MMJ 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 the clinical trials. Meanwhile, the illicit market is thriving.
DEA DELAYS MMJ CLINICAL TRIALS from MMJ International Holding on Vimeo.
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