Pubdate: Fri, 12 Aug 2016
Source: Times-Tribune, The (Scranton PA)
Copyright: 2016 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.thetimes-tribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4440
Author: Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press

U.S. WON'T RECLASSIFY POT

Decision a Blow to Legalization but May Spur Research

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has decided marijuana will 
remain on the list of most-dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing 
support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will 
allow more research into its medical uses.

The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential 
could pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. 
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.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said the agency's decision came 
after a long review and consultation with the Health and Human 
Services Department, which said marijuana "has a high potential for 
abuse" and "no accepted medical use." The decision means pot will 
remain illegal for any purpose under federal law, despite laws in 25 
states and the District of Columbia that have legalized pot for 
either medicinal or recreational use.

Advocates have long pushed for the federal government to follow suit.

"If the scientific understanding about marijuana changes - and it 
could change - then the decision could change," DEA acting 
Administrator Chuck Rosenberg wrote in a letter to the governors of 
Rhode Island and Washington, who sought the review of marijuana's 
classification in 2011. "But we will remain tethered to science, as 
we must, and as the statute demands. It certainly would be odd to 
rely on science when it suits us and ignore it otherwise."

Mr. Rosenberg said designating marijuana as a Schedule I drug does 
not necessarily mean it is as dangerous as other drugs.

"It is best not to think of drug scheduling as an escalating 'danger' 
scale - rather, specific statutory criteria (based on medical and 
scientific evidence) determine into which schedule a substance is 
placed," Mr. Rosenberg wrote.

The Food and Drug Administration said agency officials reviewed more 
than 500 studies on the use of medical marijuana, identifying only 11 
that met the agency standards for "legitimate testing." For various 
reasons, none of the trials demonstrated "an accepted medical use," 
the agency concluded.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom