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UNR School of Medicine asks committee to remove outdated cannabis-research reporting requirement
Summary
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine requested repeal of statutory sections requiring quarterly reports on medical cannabis research (added in 2001), saying the school has not conducted such research and the reporting is an undue burden.
Representatives from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) appeared before the Assembly Committee on Education to present Assembly Bill 365, a cleanup measure that would repeal statutory sections requiring UNR Med to prepare and present quarterly reports on research and evaluation of the medical use of cannabis.
Sheila Bray, speaking for UNR Reno, told the committee the reporting requirement was added in 2001 as part of Assembly Bill 453 but that UNR Med has not conducted and does not plan to conduct research on the medical use of cannabis in the near term. Bray said repealing the sections identified in the bill would remove an “undue burden” of producing quarterly reports with no activity to report.
Paul Hauptman, dean at UNR Med, told the committee that if the school later chooses to engage in cannabis research it would do so under strict guidelines and did not believe the university would need to return to the Legislature to pursue such research. Hauptman said the school intends to focus its research efforts on areas including muscular dystrophy, infectious disease diagnostics and vaccine development, cardiac arrhythmias, smooth muscle biology and cancer research.
Committee members asked whether removal of the reporting requirement would prevent future research; presenters said it would not impede research under standard institutional oversight and regulatory frameworks. The presenters also reported that they had consulted with former Assemblywoman Chris G. (the sponsor of the original 2001 requirement) and that she supports the cleanup.
No callers or in-person witnesses spoke in opposition or neutral testimony during the hearing as recorded in the transcript. The committee opened and closed the hearing on AB365 during the same session; the transcript shows no committee vote recorded during this hearing.
Provenance: Presentation by UNR representatives begins where the committee opened the hearing on AB365 and includes presenters' answers to members' questions about the statute's origin (AB453, 2001).
