THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Colorado, which has legalized and taxed medical marijuana for a few years now, is putting some of those tax dollars to good use.

Colorado health officials this week awarded $8 million in research grants to study the use of medical marijuana to treat symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease, childhood epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. The funding comes from taxes imposed on the state-regulated sale of medical marijuana.

Colorado was one of the first two U.S. states to legalize recreational pot use, and it is among 23 states and the District of Columbia that permit use of the drug for medicinal purposes.

But the use of weed for any reason remains illegal under federal law, a situation that has long meant a dearth of funding for medical marijuana research. Results have been limited and largely anecdotal.

Sue Sisley is a doctor who received $2 million in grant money from the Colorado awards. She'll be researching the effects of medical marijuana on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. She says she hopes these first peer-reviewed studies will lead to more medical marijuana research.

"We're arming the public with real data," Sisley said. "What’s happening is, as laws are changing in various states, even elected officials, even the most conservative, are acknowledging the needs of rigorous science to understand how this plant works. Most of the research money now is only looking at harmful side effects."

In awarding eight grants for landmark peer-reviewed studies into various maladies, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said on Wednesday that it hopes to provide objective scientific research on the efficacy of medical marijuana.

After years of trying to prove the imagined dangers of weed, it is a good time to look at the benefits.