DEA Wants FDA to Reschedule Marijuana

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an analysis at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) request on whether the United States should downgrade the classification of marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug, said Douglas Throckmorton, Deputy Director for Regulatory Programs at the FDA, at a congressional hearing.

The FDA reviewed the status of marijuana for the DEA in 2001 and 2006 and recommended it remain a Schedule 1 substance. The DEA has since been petitioned to change the classification of marijuana. “We’re in the process of conducting an eight-factor analysis,” said Throckmorton.

Throckmorton would not say when he expects the FDA to complete its analysis or whether it would recommend a change. The agency would first consult with the National Institute on Drug Abuse and then send the recommendation through the Department of Health and Human Services before handing it to the DEA.

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