“The measure that the DEA was considering supposedly would just be scheduling to Schedule Two, putting marijuana on a level with opium and cocaine, and methamphetamine, which are also on Schedule Two, and they couldn’t even do that much”, he lamented. The Times quoted Dr. Orrin Devinsky of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU’s Langone Medical Center who called the DEA’s decision to keep marijuana classified as Schedule I “deeply disappointing”.
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The US Drug Enforcement Administration has denied requests to loosen the classification of marijuana as a risky drug with no medical use.
“This is a treatment that is saving my son”, she told News 12 Long Island. “This shows that the federal government is flexible on legitimate research but is nowhere near wanting to legalize marijuana”.
The FDA last evaluated marijuana for medical use in 2006 and said in its latest review that the available research “has progressed”, but does not meet federal standards of safety or effectiveness. “This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine – and it’s not”, DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg said, adding that the DEA continues to support efforts to advance scientific research on marijuana.
The DEA only allows marijuana for federally sanctioned research to be cultivated at a garden at the University of MS, an operation overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The tri-state area allows for medical marijuana, and there’s talk of legalizing recreational use in New Jersey, although it won’t get by the Governor. The DEA plans to increase the number of DEA-registered marijuana growers to “provide researchers with a more varied and robust supply of marijuana”.
Marijuana is legal in some form or another in 23 states plus Washington, DC. For decades it has been preventing researchers from exploring the medical benefits of marijuana. “This decision does not address other key concerns like the need for banking services and tax equity for small businesses, operating legally in half the states”.
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“The DEA’s refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling”, Marijuana Policy Project spokesperson Mason Tvert said.
