The fourth petition, filed in 2009 by New Mexico medical marijuana activist Bryan Krumm, and the fifth petition, filed in 2011 by Christine Gregoire, then the governor of Washington, and Lincoln Chafee, then the governor of Rhode Island, are still pending. “It would not even solve the policy disjunction that exists between states and the federal government on the question of marijuana legality – or even value”.
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The administration classifies marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, considering it in the same class as heroin and LSD with “no now accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”. This means the DEA’s decision could have huge ramifications for marijuana nationwide.
A decision by the DEA to reclassify marijuana may come with the next few months, possibly by July.
The letter is signed by Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Michael Boticelli, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Chuck Rosenberg, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency.
In part, the memo addresses the current situation in which marijuana research is conducted in the United States. For decades, ever since 1970, marijuana has been classified by the DEA as a Schedule 1 drug.
“DEA understands the widespread interest in the prompt resolution to these petitions and hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016”, the agency wrote in the 25-page letter. But cannabis advocates are hopeful that if the DEA considers rescheduling cannabis to be an important enough priority, it could be the first step toward more open marijuana laws. Although this doesn’t mean people should use weed, with medical marijuana laws getting passed in over 23 states across the USA changing its federal status could lead to a nationwide legalization.
State marijuana possession penalties may vary in municipalities that pass their own marijuana laws.
The Democratic frontrunner for president, Hillary Clinton, has said she thinks marijuana should be reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule II, while fellow Democrat, Bernie Sanders, introduced legislation in November 2015 to remove marijuana from the federal drug schedule. In one such example, Dr. Orrin Devinsky with New York University’s Langone Medical Center and his colleagues found cannabidiol (CBD) – one of the many active cannabinoids found in marijuana – to benefit some children suffering from seizures inflicted by epilepsy.
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However, reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II, which includes drugs such as cocaine, would make it much easier for researchers to learn about its effects, medical and otherwise.
