The DEA said it was “supportive of efforts to advance scientific research on marijuana”, but that it maintained its opposition to medical marijuana.
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Two petitions were filed where the groups asked the federal agency to reconsider the categorization of marijuana.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is standing firm on marijuana.
Along with much more serious drugs such as heroin and acid, pot is considered a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substance Act. And they usually carry the heaviest criminal charges. Doctors and businesses growing, selling or prescribing cannabis may be operating legally within a given state, but still acting in opposition to federal law, risking arrest and sanctions. But the agency has once again denied those requests.
Krumm told ABC News he was disappointed by the DEA’s decision and intends to appeal.
“The DEA’s refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling”, Marijuana Policy Project spokesperson Mason Tvert said. The administration said that marijuana has no acceptable medical use now and has a huge potential for abuse.
The DEA said it will try to make it easier for scientists to study cannabis. At present, there is only one entity authorized to produce marijuana to supply researchers in the United States: the University of MS, operating under a contract with NIDA… For now, only the University of MS has a accorded by the DEA to grow marijuana on premises for the goal of research.
“Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws”, NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement. Removing barriers to research is a step forward, but the decision does not go almost far enough.
“I appreciate the DEA’s focus on youth prevention and for allowing more testing centers which will provide more medical research for more informed national policy decisions”, said Inslee in the statement.
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Pro-cannabis lawmakers and activists said the DEA’s newest decisions simply aren’t enough.
