DEA to make it easier for researchers to obtain marijuana

The US Drug Enforcement Administration has denied requests to loosen the classification of marijuana as a risky drug with no medical use. It’s unclear how many more universities will receive licenses to grow marijuana, The New York Times reported.

Marijuana farms may soon pop up at major U.S. universities, with the government allowing more educational institutions to apply to grow it for research. This means marijuana would remain classified as a Schedule 1 drug – a category that includes drugs such as heroin and ecstasy that have “a high potential for abuse”.

Morphine, methamphetamine, cocaine and oxycodone are all Schedule II drugs, “because they have medical applications”, Bostwick said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) annouced on Thursday that it will not reclassify marijuana to allow its wider use for medical purposes.

Chuck Rosenburg, the acting administrator of the DEA, sent a letter to the petitioners, former state governors Christine Gregoire (Wash.) and Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), and explained the scientific and legal basis as to why the department denied the requests. “So, it’s not as if we don’t have precedent for substances that are unsafe from an addictive point of view being useful in certain medical situations”.

The DEA just announced that it will not reschedule cannabis. It’s not enough to remove some barriers to medical research. Now the only registered facility is at the University of MS, which has been the single grower registered to supply medical marijuana research for almost 50 years. The federal government’s new report continues to leave patients trapped between state and national laws. Despite a trend towards decriminalization and legalization on the state level, the DEA’s denial of these petitions indicates the Obama administration has not changed its stance on marijuana. DEA said it will allow universities and even private companies to apply to grow marijuana for scientific research.

“I welcome the decision to lessen barriers to medical marijuana research”, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer said in a statement. The two organizations have agreed that the best way to continue testing marijuana’s medical benefits will be through “scientifically valid and well-controlled clinical trials”.