At present, there is only one entity authorized to produce marijuana to supply researchers in the United States: the University of MS, operating under a contract with NIDA… The DEA said it will increase the number of authorized marijuana manufacturers who supply researchers to create “a more varied and robust supply of marijuana”.
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The filings, which are expected to be published Friday, included the rescheduling decision, a rejection of the medical use of marijuana, statements of principles on industrial hemp, and a move to allow more entities to cultivate marijuana for research purposes. “This unfortunate decision only further highlights the need for Congress to pass legislation curtailing the ability of DEA and other federal agencies to interfere with the effective implementation of state marijuana laws”.
The DEA conducted a lengthy review of the plant, consulting the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to determine its medicinal properties. While the DEA remains stagnant in its thinking with scheduling, it announced it will allow additional institutions to apply for FDA-approved research. Not everyone agrees marijuana should be legal, but few will deny that it is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs.
Krumm told ABC News he was disappointed by the DEA’s decision and intends to appeal.
The DEA concluded it could not downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I classification, considered the most unsafe class of drugs. This restriction has so limited the supply of marijuana federally approved for research purposes that scientists said it could often take years to obtain it and in some cases it was impossible to get. The decision means that pot will remain illegal for any goal under federal law, despite laws in 25 states and District of Columbia that have legalized pot for either medicinal or recreational use.
Loosening the classification could encourage scientific study of the drug, which is being used to treat diseases in several U.S. states despite little proof of its effectiveness.
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State Senator Tick Segerblom, a prominent figure behind the effort to legalize marijuana in Nevada said with the federal policy of letting the states regulate an illegal industry, he was caught off guard by the DEA’s decision.
