U.S. Federal Drug Administration approval will clear the air on the questions surrounding the use of medical marijuana, experts say. 

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation, a Washington-based pro-marijuana lobbying group, keeps an extensive database of studies that aim to show the benefits of medical marijuana, including links to dozens of research papers on how medical marijuana helped chronic pain patients and reduced their reliance on prescription pain medications. 

Many of the U.S.-based studies include details on research limitations, with institutions lamenting the country’s challenging legal environment for studying marijuana as it remains illegal at the federal level. 

One paper cited, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2017, states that “conclusive evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects (harms and benefits) of cannabis use remains elusive. A lack of scientific research has resulted in a lack of information on the health implications of cannabis use, which is a significant public health concern for vulnerable populations.” 

“There is a problem with researchers being able to obtain or at least legally obtain the type of cannabis that people are consuming in regulated markets,” said Morgan Fox, political director for NORML, who said federal legalization in any form will help.

To meet study guidelines “you have to obtain cannabis from a federally approved supplier and producer and (there are) significant barriers to research,” he said. 

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano wrote in an email that the organization “nonetheless possess(es) ample science highlighting cannabis’ safety, efficacy, and mechanisms of action to put most every debate to rest.” 

Other countries have studied medical marijuana and the outcomes have been mixed, said Dr. Marcos Iglesias, Hartford, Connecticut-based chief medical director at Travelers Cos. Inc. FDA approval would be a gold standard for including the option for injured workers, he said.

Doctors are embracing a “wait-and-see attitude” to better understand any medical benefits, Dr. Iglesias said, adding, “because the hype is bigger than the benefits that we know of today.”

Brian Allen, Salt Lake City-based vice president of government affairs for Enlyte LLC, said evidence about medical marijuana’s potency and effectiveness is “anecdotal.” 

“There’s not a lot of clinical support for some of the things that medical marijuana is being recommended for now,” he said. “When it goes through the traditional prescribing process and becomes a prescription drug that’s going to change. I wouldn’t say it’s going to change the science, but there’s going to be more science behind it.”