States Aren ’t Enough: Here’s Why the DEA Should Change Marijuana’s Schedule I Classification

More than half the states in the nation and Washington DC have legalized medical marijuana. While people managing pain or living with extremely painful forms of cancer in those states are grateful, some researchers and addiction treatment providers are arguing that just changing the drug’s status at a state level doesn’t go far enough. Here’s why we have to move marijuana out of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) Schedule I category and how that move could improve millions of Americans’ lives. The DEA’s tiered drug schedule originated in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and created guidelines by which the agency could monitor the production, distribution and possession of certain drugs based on the drug’s potential for abuse and known medical uses. As a Schedule I substance, marijuana is in the same category as heroin, ecstasy and LSD, as a drug with high potential for abuse and dependency with no known medical uses. At this point, marijuana’s Schedule I classification is outdated to say the least. There are a host of known medical uses for marijuana, ranging from pain management to a treatment for various forms of epilepsy. Even if you think people shouldn’t use marijuana recreationally, you can’t deny that medical research has found many uses for marijuana that bring real relief to many thousands, if not millions of people, including children with tragic forms of epilepsy and those with terminal cancer who want the best quality of life possible in ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Richard Taite Source Type: blogs