Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump Ally, Sponsors Medical Pot Bill
*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).
Authorities on Thursday were trying to determine who sent letters filled with fentanyl or other substances to local election offices, an attack that appears to have targeted multiple states in the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country.
The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting.
Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris joined Cheddar News to break down what stood out from Wednesday's third Republican presidential primary debate.
Mississippi's largest county ran out of ballots during Wednesday's governor's election as some voters say they had to wait for up to an hour for new ballots to be printed before they could cast their votes.
Republican presidential candidates used the third debate of the GOP primary campaign to show their support for Israel and display at least some willingness to criticize Donald Trump.
The National Zoo's three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji. on Wednesday began their long trip to China, leaving behind an empty panda exhibit with no certainty that pandas ever would again take up residence there.
Palestinians living in the heart of Gaza’s largest city said Wednesday they could see and hear Israeli ground forces closing in from multiple directions, accelerating the exodus of thousands of civilians as food and water become scarce and urban fighting between Israel and Hamas heats up.
