US President Joe Biden has turned the Medical Marijuana Research Bill into law, changing how scientists in the country can do research on marijuana.

Aussie pot stock Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) has welcomed news of the passing of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act in the US.

The act establishes a new registration process for conducting research on marijuana and for manufacturing marijuana products for research purposes and drug development.

The bipartisan bill was introduced in July, passed in the House of Reps in the same month, and unanimously approved by the Senate in November.

While the act doesn’t change the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance, which means the Drug Enforcement Administration considers it addictive and without medical value.

But chief sponsor of the act Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer said it will reduce some hurdles researchers have faced and streamline the application process researchers go through to obtain marijuana for study and allow them to research a much wider variety of cannabis.

Furthermore, there are moves to decriminalise marijuana at the federal level in the US. In October, Biden announced plans to pardon all federal offences of cannabis possession, highlighting the first significant step towards decriminalisation.

The move prompted more US states to legalise the use of marijuana.

Promising news for Creso

Moves to provide further research into the benefits of marijuana in the US and also have it decriminalised, particularly at the federal level, is  good news for Creso.

Creso is ready to leverage its recently acquired US-based business Sierra Sage Herbs LLC and existing recreational cannabis brands at Mernova Medicinal Inc to advance US-focused opportunities.

Sierra Sage Herbs has strong brand recognition across the US and already sells and distributes a range of CBD and non-CBD products to major American retailers.

Mernova has developed a reputation for high quality craft cannabis products and Creso believes it could leverage this expertise in a future, legal US market.

Creso also has a board and management team with extensive experience in the North America cannabis sector.

Earlier this year Creso recruited one of the biggest names in the global cannabinoid game, Bruce Linton, to its board as a non-executive director.

Linton co-founded Canopy Growth, leading it to become the first cannabis producer listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – with a peak market capitalisation of US$15bn.

Creso spokesman Henry Jordan has welcomed the latest developments in the US.

“The company has an exceptional track record of R&D which has underpinned product development and commercialisation across business divisions in recent years,” he said.

“Further, any moves towards legalising cannabis at the federal level would provide Creso Pharma with the ability to leverage its US subsidiary, Sierra Sage Herbs and its cannabis experience from Mernova Medicinal to rapidly enter the lucrative US market.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Creso Pharma, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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