In a stunning regulatory paradox, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has applied for DEA approval to import marijuana extracts from abroad to study PTSD and chronic pain in veterans. While this step may help veterans, it underscores a catastrophic policy failure: the DEA has systematically blocked American companies from producing the very same research materials, forcing the federal government itself to look overseas.
This is not about American capability. MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, Inc., a fully compliant U.S. pharmaceutical company, has been trapped in a seven-year regulatory nightmare attempting to cultivate cannabis for FDA-approved clinical trials in Huntington’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Despite passing inspections, receiving one schedule 1 lab registration and holding FDA Orphan Drug Designations, MMJ remains sidelined-will the VA application move forward quickly?