Kerry To End Monopoly Of Medical Marijuana Research [View All]

[DrFunkenstein]

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is supporting the University of Massachusetts' effort to grow marijuana for medical research.

Currently the University of Mississippi is the only legal grower of marijuana for research. Kerry and fellow Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy say that amounts to an "unjustifiable monopoly."

In a letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration dated Oct. 20, Kerry and Kennedy wrote, "The current lack of such competition may well result in the production of lower-quality research-grade marijuana, which in turn jeopardizes important research into the therapeutic effects of marijuana for patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, glaucoma or other diseases."

Kerry has said if elected president, he would stop federal raids of medical marijuana patients until completion of a scientific study of the benefits. Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana gives Kerry a B+ for his views — only long-shot Democratic candidates Dennis Kucinich and Carol Moseley Braun get higher grades.

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