DEA Denies Cannabis Rescheduling, Expands Research Policies

Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug, but policy allows for more growers of research-grade cannabis.

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency denied two petitions to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I, according to an announcement released by the organization Aug. 11. This denial means maintaining the DEA’s current stance that marijuana has no medical value. The DEA also increased the number of registered manufacturers supplying marijuana for research.

The 2011 petition came from former state governors Lincoln Chafee (Rhode Island) and Christine Gregoire (Washington), requesting the DEA remove marijuana from Schedule I, based on their assertion that cannabis has accepted medical use in the United States, according to the DEA’s ruling

The DEA collected data and recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That recommendation concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.

Based on that result, “the DEA has concluded that there is no substantial evidence that marijuana should be removed from Schedule I,” according to the document.

“Enormous weight” was given to the Food and Drug Administration’s conclusions that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg told NPR.

“This decision isn’t based on danger. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine,” he said in the NPR interview, “and it’s not.”

Although the DEA has kept marijuana legally listed as a Schedule I drug, the announcement relaxed some research restrictions by expanding the number of authorized marijuana manufacturers for studies. Currently, the only institution legally allowed to grow marijuana for study purposes has been the University of Mississippi.

Under the new rules, potential manufacturers must apply for DEA registration. Though no total number of manufacturers is given, registration will be limited to a number that produces “an adequate and uninterrupted supply of these substances under adequately competitive conditions for legitimate medical, scientific, research, and industrial purposes,” according to the policy announcement

Among the factors to be considered are whether the applicant has a history of legally handling controlled substances, including a criminal history. The announcement states that having illegal activity in a manufacturer’s background doesn’t automatically disqualify them, but will weigh heavily in the decision.

Applicants also will be asked to explain how they believe they would be able to augment the nation’s supply of research-grade cannabis, along with other relevant information, according to the announcement.

Growers would be allowed to operate independently, as long as that grower agrees to only distribute marijuana with prior approval from the DEA, and only to DEA-registered researchers.

To apply for registration with the DEA, go to www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/index.html#regapps and submit Form 225.

Marijuana proponents were disappointed with the denials, including National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith.

“DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” he said in a statement. “The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives.

“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,” Smith said.

"The DEA's refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling," said Mason Tvert, spokesperson for Marijuana Policy Project in a statement.

The expansion of manufacturers for research-grade marijuana will provide the potential for research that could change future policy, said Michael Collins, deputy director of Drug Policy Alliance in an email to DPA constituents.

“For decades, the DEA has promoted an unjustified monopoly on research-grade marijuana for use in federally-approved studies – making it impossible for scientists to put marijuana through clinical trials to demonstrate it meets FDA standards for medical safety and efficacy,” said Collins. “And the DEA only permitted one facility to supply marijuana to scientists which is operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse – which also has a long track record of obstructing medical marijuana research.

“Today’s announcement will help eliminate the marijuana research barriers that the DEA and NIDA have unnecessarily and unjustifiably promoted for decades,” he said.

But that expansion isn’t enough to make up for the denial of overall rescheduling, according to Tvert.

“The DEA’s announcement is a little sweet, but mostly bitter,” he said. “Praising them for it would be like rewarding a student who failed an exam and agreed to cheat less on the next one. Removing barriers to research is a step forward, but the decision does not go nearly far enough. Marijuana should be completely removed from the CSA drug schedules and regulated similarly to alcohol.”

In his email, Collins commented, "Keeping marijuana in Schedule I shows that the DEA continues to ignore research, science, and growing public and political opinion. Marijuana should be descheduled and states should be allowed to set their own policies."

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