{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-members-congress-call-hhs-allow-research-medical-marijuana", "Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Members of Congress Call on HHS to Allow Research of Medical Marijuana as Pain Management Alternative to Opioids", "2017-12-07", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Tulsi Gabbard", "G000571", "gabbard.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, DC\u2014Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) and a bipartisan coalition of 20 Members of Congress called on the\u00a0Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider medical marijuana as a pain management alternative to opioids. In a letter to Acting Secretary of HHS Eric D. Hargan, the lawmakers pushed for research on the use, uptake, and effectiveness of medical marijuana as a pain management substitute for opioids, as well as additional details on the Department\u2019s ongoing information sharing and related efforts to the opioid crisis with state governments and federal agencies.\n\u201cAs the opioid epidemic continues to ravage communities across the country, we must pursue every available path to prevent, treat, and ultimately end America\u2019s reliance on these highly addictive drugs,\u201d said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. \u201cIn Hawai\u2018i alone, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and opioid-related deaths have doubled over the last decade. Studies have found a correlation in states that have legalized medical marijuana with a drop in addiction rates and opioid abuse deaths, some by over 20%. With 91 lives lost every single day to the opioid epidemic, Acting Secretary Hargan should immediately authorize additional research into medical marijuana as an alternative treatment to urgently address this opioid crisis.\u201d\n\u00a0\nBackground:\nCongresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has cosponsored legislation like the STOP OD Act (H.R.664) to help state and local governments raise awareness of the dangers of opioids like fentanyl, oxycodone and heroin, expand educational efforts to prevent opiate abuse, and promote treatment and prevention. \u00a0She also voted to pass a\u00a0series of bipartisan measures in the 114th Congress to address some of the widespread problems that have caused and perpetuated the national opioid crisis, including the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (S.524) signed into law in July 2016, and has continued to call for drug companies perpetuating the crisis to be held accountable.\u00a0\nCongresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is the lead Democratic co-sponsor of H.R.1227, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, which would take marijuana off the federal controlled substances list, as part of her commitment to common sense criminal justice reform.\nRead the full text of the letter here.\n\u00a0\nFollow Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on social media:\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/rep-tulsi-gabbard-members-congress-call-hhs-allow-research-medical-marijuana"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.51226413436234, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}