*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).
A Democratic official says President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats have agreed to tighten the upper-income limits at which people could qualify for stimulus checks in the party's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.
President Joe Biden says the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccines for all adult Americans by the end of May, two months earlier than anticipated.
State Representative Marcus C. Evans, Jr. from Chicago filed amendments to an Illinois bill that would further ban games considered to be too violent from reaching the hands of minors.
Texas is lifting a COVID-19 mask mandate that was imposed last summer but has only been lightly enforced. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement Tuesday makes Texas the largest state to do away with a face covering order.
Drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved coronavirus vaccine in an effort to expand supply more quickly.
Calls for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign are intensifying now that a third woman has accused him of offensive behavior.
The pill comprises 40% of the profits in the U.S. contraceptive market and 25% of contraceptive consumers, causing millions of unnecessary ‘periods’ along the way. So, why hasn’t birth control evolved beyond the pseudo-period?
This is your Washington Week Ahead for the week of March 1.
U.S. health advisers have endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson that's expected to provide an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic.
Following the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the widespread SolarWinds cyberattack, cybersecurity experts are pushing the need for private businesses and federal agencies to cooperate closely to prevent future such breaches.
