Marijuana to remain at highest drug classification

This means that the drug will continue to remain as a Schedule I controlled substance due to the requirements of the CSA.

Advocates for both medical marijuana and the outright legalization of the herb were dealt a blow yesterday when the Drug Enforcement Administration rejected a bid to reconsider how it treats marijuana under federal drug control laws. Heroin, peyote and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated Schedule II drugs.

“They’re looking at the science, taking a nuanced view”, Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration drug-policy adviser and president of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, told The Times.

“Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws”, NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement. Today, only one university can grow cannabis for research use. With more medical marijuana available, more research can be conducted on more strains and for more conditions. Research has been stymied by the fact that the only approved marijuana had to be produced at the federally-approved site at the University of Mississippi. The new policy could begin to change that.

However, rules for studying marijuana will be relaxed a bit to make it easier for places to grow the plant for research.

The New York Times credited the Obama administration with the decision to allow for more studies, noting that the president has said he views pot as no more unsafe than alcohol. It has also stood in the way of any scientific inquiries that might contradict the DEA’s exaggerated claims about the potential harms of marijuana or raise questions about its classification under Schedule I. While the DEA remains stagnant in its thinking with scheduling, it announced it will allow additional institutions to apply for FDA-approved research.