“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.
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“We strongly support passage of the bi-partisan CARERS Act; legislation that would acknowledge the scientific evidence that cannabis has accepted medical use and give states greater ability to regulate their own medical cannabis programs”.
The DEA’s ruling shocked legalization supporters.
He said the DEA’s decision also doesn’t address concerns surrounding banking or tax deductions.
Her successor, Democrat Jay Inslee, also expressed dismay.
“We’re pleased to see that the Obama Administration. understands the science the way we and nearly every single medical association in the country understand it”, said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes loosening restrictions on the drug.
The decision dashes the hopes of advocates of legalization and rejects calls from some states and members of Congress who say growing knowledge and public acceptance should result in looser regulations on the substance.
They allow its recreational use for adults.
Sources speaking to Reuters claim that the DEA will respond to a petition by two former state governors asking agencies to reclassify the drug.
But no, said DEA head Chuck Rosenberg. The DEA’s decision will be published Friday in the Federal Register. It is intellectually dishonest and completely indefensible. Not everyone agrees marijuana should be legal, but few will deny that it is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs.
Some good news and not so good news emerged on the federal level for marijuana activists on Wednesday evening. Another protest, described as “a mass mobilization”, is planned for September 24 in Washington.
Petitions to change marijuana’s status were filed with the DEA in 2009 and 2011. Marijuana is now a Schedule I drug, meaning the DEA considers it a drug “with no now accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.
This decision isn’t based on danger. “This pathway allows the FDA the important ability to determine whether a product meets the FDA criteria for safety and effectiveness for approval”.
Budtender Miles Claybourne sorts strains of marijuana for sale into glass containers at The Station, a retail and medical cannabis dispensary, in Boulder, Colo., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016.
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There’s a potential setback for the marijuana movement.
