ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) — Last week, recreational marijuana was legalized in New York State, allowing people to legally smoke it, without facing criminal penalties or needing a medical marijuana card.

When it comes to health research, Carlyn Buckler, associate professor for the School of Integrated Plant at Cornell, says there is a huge disparity between tobacco and marijuana.

"The thing to remember is THC a schedule one drug. No one who gets federal money, including Cornell, can do any research on marijuana, on THC. None of it," Buckler said.

During her time at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Buckler studied the effects THC had on sperm in comparison to other substances, but the legal status of marijuana created a complicated barrier.

"We tested opioids, nicotine and THC. We were allowed to give them opioids, under circumstances and we could certainly give them cigarettes, but
we couldn't give them THC. That's against the law."

Researchers have little information about how long THC stays in the bloodstream and what it can do to someone's body.

"Someone could have a couple of joints at a party one night and not consume it for the next two weeks, three weeks, even two months. Then maybe they lose a little bit of weight. That THC goes back into the bloodstream. They're driving a car and they get pulled over, they can, under certain circumstances, test for THC levels in your blood based on something you did two months ago," Buckler said.

Other than the possibility that THC can stay in the bloodstream for a prolonged period of time, Buckler says scientists only know what independent test subjects tell them. 

"Therapies, for instance, people who are taking AIDS medication, HIV treatment and cancer therapy, can all take away your desire for food. That can be lethal. Right now, that's all we've got," Buckler said.

Ole Miss, the University of Mississippi, is the only college in the United States that can conduct research on medical marijuana.

"If the rest of us touch it, we'd lose, Cornell has a lot of federal money. Cornell would lose, potentially, all of their federal grants."

Since Cornell researchers can't do studies with CBD or THC, buckler says they focus on hemp. 

"The physiology, the production needs, the diseases, pests and also the chemistry. How these cannabidiols being produced within the plant," Buckler said.

Researchers say the hemp plant itself goes far beyond medicinal purposes. Their studies aid in its use for buildings, clothing and fuel, but Buckler says farmers can run into problems when growing hemp.

"There are a lot of reasons to grow hemp. The people who sell the seeds say it's just CBD. The farmer plants it and you have to get someone from the DEA 
to test your plans before you harvest, within two weeks of harvest. If it goes hot, 0.3% THC, they have to destroy the entire field and you're out," Buckler said.

Having to burn an entire field of hemp slows down production and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In recent years, the USDA created crop insurance for hemp farmers in the event the crops test above 0.3% THC. 

Buckler says marijuana has only been legal in the United States and other countries within the last 6 years. She says it could be another decade before researchers have significant data on the health effects of THC.