Michael J. Fox gets behind the push for cannabis research

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The actor’s Parkinson’s Foundation makes a plea to Congress

Michael J. Fox has lived with Parkinson’s disease since he was 28 years old, but remained silent for years after his diagnosis. As part of his ongoing treatment, he has acknowledged that he consumes cannabis and has used his fame, and fortune, to create the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), which works to increase research into the disease. It has also given him the ability to lobby for cannabis reform, and he is getting behind three separate measures on Capitol Hill that would open the doors to more cannabis research.

The Medical Cannabis Research Act, the Veteran’s Administration (VA) Cannabis Research Act and the Expanding Cannabis Research and Information Act all look to do what hasn’t been done in decades – force the government to allow greater amounts of cannabis research. The bills want to either reschedule or deschedule marijuana, which would create more legal research opportunities and free up resources to allow for more research channels.

In an announcement on the MJFF website supporting the measures, the organization asserted, “The MJFF supports increased access to cannabis for medical research. Congress has begun to recognize this need, and there are several bills in the U.S. House and Senate designed to remove barriers that impede safe and legal access to cannabis by medical researchers. The MJFF public policy team is tracking these bills and working to educate members of Congress and their staff on their importance to the Parkinson’s community.”

There isn’t any information available regarding whether or not the bills have garnered enough support to be approved, but the current atmosphere on cannabis in Washington points toward positive signs. If expanded legislation doesn’t happen this year, it is almost certainly going to be seen within the next two years, at the most.