“Since its inception in 1974, NIDA [National Institute on Drug Abuse] has been the sole administrator of a contract to grow cannabis (marijuana) for research purposes and the only legal source for cannabis in the United States…
Because of international treaty agreements (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961) which prohibit entities other than the Federal Government from legally supplying cannabis, NIDA has remained its only legal source.”
The University of Mississippi is contracted by NIDA to grow either 1.5 or 6.5 acres of cannabis, or to not grow any at all, depending on research demand. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) has a contract to manufacture and distribute cannabis cigarettes (joints).