Congress has decided to vote against scientific studies into medical marijuana. Marijuana is currently a schedule one drug, meaning it has no medical uses. Some lawmakers wanted to change this, but they were outnumbered and outvoted. Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

“While there is increasing evidence that medical marijuana could be a viable alternative to opioids in terms of pain management, a new report indicates that Congress is still not prepared to give the scientific community the green light to dig any deeper into this progressive concept.

Earlier last week, the U.S. House Rules Committee voted against two proposed amendments that would have required a special pain management task force to consider how weed might be used as an alternative or in conjunction with prescription painkillers.

Both amendments, submitted by Representatives Dana Rohrabacher and Jared Polis, would have given Uncle Sam’s new painkiller detail, a crew consisting of various federal drug and health agencies, the opportunity to look into “the potential for marijuana to serve as an alternative to opioids for pain management,” as well as conduct research that compares “the medical application of marijuana and opioids for pain management.”

In an effort to sell the importance of allowing the task force to include medical marijuana in its review, Polis explained before the House Committee that medical marijuana has already shown significant promise in deterring overdose incidents stemming from the abuse of prescription narcotics.