*By Jacqueline Corba*
Freshman Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is on a mission to pass a bill that would allow for expanded medical marijuana research.
"Research can demystify who is right and who is wrong," Gaetz told Cheddar's CannaBiz Tuesday. "It's kind of nice to let the science guide our policy making."
Last week, the [Medical Marijuana Act](https://gaetz.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-matt-gaetz-applauds-passage-medical-cannabis-bill-through-house) sponsored by Gaetz passed the U.S. House Judicial Committee with bipartisan support.
It's a "landmark moment" Gaetz said; it's the first time Republicans in control of Congress have passed a medical marijuana bill through committee. Next it will head to the House floor for a vote.
"I'm super excited about what potential cannabis has in healthcare, and I think we'll learn a lot more if we're not so stupid as a government to make the research illegal," Gaetz said.
The act would give research institutions "safe harbor" to study the potential uses, benefits, and risks of the drug, which remains a Schedule I classification under the federal law alongside heroin and LSD.
"I think that marijuana policy has in many ways been victimized by the overall chilled relationship between the White House and the Department of Justice," Gaetz said.
"I think it is really Jeff Sessions who opposes medical marijuana, and I'm not entirely sure he and President Trump will be on one another's Christmas lists going forward."
For Gaetz, Washington is obstructing its own view.
"Washington just needs to get out of the way so that we can really see the potential."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/medical-cannabis-research-act-passes-first-hurdle-in-congress).
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is conceding that Democrats face a tough pathway to delivering a $3.5 trillion package for family, health and environment programs to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Kathy Hochul will become the state’s first female governor once Cuomo's resignation is effective in two weeks.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will resign over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during the darkest days of COVID-19.
With a robust vote after weeks of fits and starts, the Senate has approved the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan.
Members of the U.S. military would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Sept. 15, under a plan announced by the Pentagon on Monday and endorsed by President Joe Biden.
Canada is lifting its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Canadians.
Earth is getting so hot that temperatures in about a decade will probably blow past a level of warming that world leaders have sought to prevent.
The Biden administration has announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that was scheduled to expire next month.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
