Eben Sumner, founder of Casco Bay Hemp and 1780, a medical cannabis provider, helped draft a new state bill that would fund research into “alternative plant-based medicine” and could give Maine a foothold in a growing sector of cannabis research. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Almost 25 years after Maine legalized marijuana’s medical use, the state may soon be cashing in on it – in a new way.
A wave of scientists, medical professionals and industry members are trying to discover new therapeutic applications for cannabis. So far, the results are promising.
Cannabis has been used as a medicinal plant for centuries, and a growing body of evidence suggests the drug could be used to treat a host of conditions. They include anxiety, chronic pain, nausea, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and opioid use disorder.
But because of a longstanding taboo and the plant’s federal designation as a Schedule I drug, the quantity and quality of research has been paltry. Studies that have been done are inconclusive, even contradictory.
Scientists call the situation a “Catch-22”: They can’t conduct research on cannabis until they demonstrate it has a medical use, and they can’t show the plant has a medical use until they conduct research.
But the catch may soon go away.
Since 2015, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded research surrounding cannabinoids and their therapeutic benefits. Spending on the studies has more than doubled since then. In 2015, the institute…