Washington Governor Jay Inslee said he was “disappointed” the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would keep marijuana illegal for any objective Thursday.
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Political leaders in OR and Washington said they’re disappointed with Thursday’s ruling from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Marijuana farms may soon pop up at major U.S. universities, with the government allowing more educational institutions to apply to grow it for research. “This includes approving additional growers of marijuana to supply researchers”.
Drugs listed on the DEA’s Schedule I list meet three criteria – a high potential for abuse, no now accepted medical use and a lack of accepted safety for the drug’s use under medical supervision. The drug is listed alongside narcotics such as heroin, ecstatsy and LSD. Colorado, Washington, and OR have legalized possession, and half of U.S. states have put medical marijuana laws into effect, prompting calls for the DEA to loosen its hold on the drug.
Deferring to the FDA, Rosenberg wrote in a letter to rescheduling petitioners Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and New Mexico nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm: “Simply put, evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drugs is a highly specialized endeavor”.
Eight Democratic legislators had urged the DEA to reclassify marijuana to a Schedule 2 drug. Sen. The DEA report said the decision was based on a scientific and medical evaluation of marijuana conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at their request. Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is strongly against marijuana legalization, told Reuters that opening up medical research into the drug was “a good day for science”.
The DEA has denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).
Consistent with the CSA and USA treaty obligations, DEA’s new policy will allow addition institutions to apply to become registered with DEA so that they may produce marijuana for FDA-authorized research facilities.
The agency, however, said that it is taking steps to ensure that the marijuana plants are allowed to grow in certain institutions for the objective of research.
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Marijuana is legal in some form or another in 23 states plus Washington, DC.
