A response to the nine-year-old petition calling for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to reassess the present classification of marijuana was finally issued during the July 8, 2011 edition of the Federal Register. Currently marijuana is still classified as a schedule I controlled substance, which in the eyes of the government lacks any medicinal prevalence while also possessing a high potential for abuse.
On October 9, 2002 a coalition of public interest organizations, including NORML, filed a wide-ranging rescheduling petition with the DEA. Just this May, the coalition filed suit in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to urge the Obama Administration to acknowledge their petition and reclassify marijuana under federal law.
DEA administrator Michele Leonhart posted a letter denying the petition, stating that cannabis has “a high potential for abuse; no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; … and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” She later added that “There are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving marijuana’s efficacy; the drug is not accepted by qualified experts. … 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.”
As history has proven, the DEA is continuing to approach this issue blindly while maintaining its ‘flat Earth’ position in regards to the otherwise well-acknowledged therapeutic properties of cannabis. Of course, advocates will be appealing the decision in federal court. Do not lose hope, we will not be silenced and will continue to push towards marijuana reform.
