Marijuana based drugs are getting approval (Photo credits: Wild0ne/Pixabay)
Voters in Oklahoma have approved the legalisation of marijuana based drugs becoming the 30th state in the US to do so. The Oklahoma State Question 788 now allows individuals above 18 years of age or older to get a medical marijuana license with a board-certified physician’s signature. The medicinal use of marijuana found support despite the long-standing opposition from law enforcement and certain leaders. This comes in just 2 days after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Epidiolex, the country’s first drug derived from marijuana.
Several states have medical marijuana laws which delineate the specific list of diseases for which physicians have to give an approval. Minors require an approval of two physicians and their parent or legal guardian. There will be a new office in the Oklahoma State Department of Health to enforce the regulations. It will look at the licensing for dispensaries, growers, and processors. Recently, US President Donald Trump also hinted at a possibility of legalising the drug by supporting Senator Gardner, who had already discussed the legalisation with him.
Among the 92% precincts, 56% voters supported the medical marijuana, while 43% opposed it. The recreational use of marijuana or cannabis is legal in Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and The District of Columbia. There are several other countries which have legalised the cannabis usage.
According to a research done in 2017, marijuana is a promising factor for treatment like chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and multiple sclerosis. The illegality has been a major hurdle in conducting more research about the 'pot.' On the other hand, there have been considerable researches about its ill-effects. So with such approval, we can expect more findings of the positives of its medicinal use. There are certain drugs which use cannabinoids but synthetic forms which are approved by the FDA.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2018 11:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).