Jay Inslee said he’s disappointed by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s decision not to reclassify marijuana. Loosening that definition could encourage scientific study of a drug that is being used to treat diseases in several USA states despite little proof of its effectiveness. And the government still classifies marijuana as a highly addictive drug without medical value.
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The new report from the DEA has it denying two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Currently, the University of MS is the only institution authorized to grow the drug for use in medical studies.
“Keeping marijuana at Schedule I continues an outdated, failed approach-leaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws”, he said in a statement.
25 states and Washington D.C. Have passed laws allowing for some sort of medical marijuana use.
Right now, all marijuana available for research purposes in the United States is grown at the University of Mississippi. The schedule one classification puts marijuana in the same category as drugs like LSD, ecstasy, and heroin.
Twenty-five states have sanctioned some forms of marijuana use for medical purposes. To apply, a university must have an approved research protocol and security measures for storing unsafe drugs.
“The DEA’s decision flies in the face of choices made freely by voters in OR and many other states about the legality of marijuana”.
The DEA’s announcement is a little sweet but mostly bitter.
Kampia said he’s spent more than 20 years fighting for states to determine their own marijuana policies without federal interference.
Meanwhile, according to commentators, marijuana being a Schedule I substance (meaning that by definition it had “no now accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”), there were significant hurdles to in the way of its use for research.
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Members of Congress, other states and professional groups, including the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have also asked the agency to change the classification.
