Senator Orrin Hatch’s Medical Marijuana Announcement Is a Masterpiece of Weed Puns

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch introduced a Senate bill on Wednesday that would make it easier to research the potential medical benefits of marijuana and whether it’s a safe and effective alternative to opioids.

The bill, known as the Marijuana Effective Drug Study Act of 2017, or MEDS Act, is being introduced at a time when the U.S. is grappling with an opioid crisis that has caused teen overdose deaths rates to spike, a significant drop in U.S. labor force participation—particularly among American men, and has prompted President Trump to declare it a national emergency.

Hatch, who is Mormon, is still opposed to recreational use of marijuana. But he noted, in prepared remarks filled with marijuana-related puns, that it’s time to remove barriers preventing legitimate research into medical marijuana.

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