Marijuana advocates who hoped the cascade of states moving to legalize medical marijuana would soften the federal stance on the drug faced disappointment Thursday as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it will keep marijuana illegal for any objective.
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The DEA conducted a lengthy review of the plant, consulting the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to determine its medicinal properties.
“Marijuana has no now accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”, Rosenberg wrote in the denial letters, citing the HHS evaluation.
A downgrade to the lower Schedule II category would have placed marijuana in a less tightly regulated class of drugs but it would have remained on par with other highly addictive substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone. Currently, researchers can only study marijuana overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which contracts with the University of MS to grow supplies.
Washington D.C. and 25 states all allow some type of legal marijuana use (from medical treatments to totally legal recreational use), and 54 percent of Americans support the general legalization of marijuana, according to a June poll from Quinnipiac University.
The governors of Rhode Island and Washington, and a New Mexico resident, Bryan A. Krumm, petitioned the DEA to remove marijuana from Schedule 1.
What’s more, federal authorities said, they are increasing the amount of marijuana available for legitimate research.
In light of on marijuana b the administration’s decision not to reduce its scheduling came as a surprise to supporters of legalization.
The federal listing is independent of state regulation. Despite a growing body of scientific evidence and changes in public opinion, the federal government has refused to budge on a 46-year-old stance borne out of the War on Drugs. More than half the states-and counting-have legalized some form of medical marijuana. Heroin, LSD and ecstasy stand alongside marijuana on the DEA’s Schedule I list.
There are now 350 researchers registered to conduct marijuana research in the US.
It’s reported the Drug Enforcement Administration still thinks the drug’s medicinal value hasn’t been proved scientifically. Zinsmeister said he doesn’t see anything changing where laws already in place, adding that the DEA isn’t interested in arresting people for low-level possession. The DEA announced a policy change created to foster research by expanding the number of registered marijuana manufacturers.
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Schedule I status presents obstacles for clinical researchers because of restrictions on how the drugs must be stored and handled, Bradford says.
