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DEA Marijuana: With All The Progress Being Made Will It Remain As A Schedule 1 Drug?

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 22:45 PST, Aug 11, 2016

Once again, the Drug Enforcement Agency is being forced to look at marijuana and decide if the drug should be removed from the list of Schedule 1 substances and placed within a different schedule. MSN is reporting that The DEA did not care about the states across the country that have begun to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. During Thursday’s decision, the DEA decided that marijuana would stay banned as a Schedule 1 substance. According to the DEA, Schedule 1 drugs have no medicinal purpose, despite the litany of proof to the contrary as it relates to marijuana. On the plus side, some rules will be relaxed so that marijuana can be more readily studied by laboratories across the country. Currently, only one place in Missississippi is allowed to grow marijuana for DEA research. When asked why marijuana will remain a Schedule 1 substance, a spokesman for the DEA presented their report on the topic. The report addresses many of the questions.

“The drug’s chemistry is not known and reproducible; there are no adequate safety studies; there are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy; the drug is not accepted by qualified experts; and the scientific evidence is not widely available. There is no evidence that there is a consensus among qualified experts that marijuana is safe and effective for use in treating a specific, recognized disorder. At this time. the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy.”

Every day, science is learning about more and more medical conditions that can be helped by using medical marijuana. Some of these conditions come from marijunadoctors.

  • Alzheimers Disease
  • AIDS-Related Illnesses
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Anorexia
  • Arthritis
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Cancer
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Chemotherapy Side Effects
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Chronic Pain
  • Chrons Disease
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Diverticulitis
  • Epilepsy
  • Impotence
  • Lupus
  • Obesity
  • OCD
  • Post-Concussion Syndrome
  • Restless Leg Syndrome
  • Scoliosis

The list of medical conditions that have had positive impacts due to medical marijuana is not hard to come by. Tom Angell is the chairman of Marijuana Majority. Angell comments about the industry needing transparency.

“President Obama always said he would let science — and not ideology — dictate policy, but in this case his administration is upholding a failed drug war approach instead of looking at real, existing evidence that marijuana has medical value. A clear and growing majority of American voters support legalizing marijuana outright and the very least our representatives should do is let states implement their own policies, unencumbered by an outdated ‘Reefer Madness’ mentality that some in law enforcement still choose to cling to.”

Statewide movements are still progressing forward in regard to allowing marijuana to be used recreationally, or medically. Currently, Arizona, California, Massachusettes, Maine, and Nevada will have a measure on the ballot that would legalize marijuana for recreational use. Arkansas, Florida, and Montana will be looking to legalize marijuana for medical use.

The United States is clearly moving in a way in which marijuana legalization is something that the people want. Each state victory is one step closer to full legalization. The only thing that will always stand in their way is the DEA, As long as marijuana remains as a Schedule 1 drug, then it will always be illegal federally.

[Image Via AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File]

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