DEA to Decide Stance on Rescheduling Marijuana by July

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently sent a lengthy memo to lawmakers indicating that they expect to make a decision regarding whether or not to change the federal Schedule 1 controlled substance status of marijuana “in the the first half of 2016.”

The American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics are urging the DEA to reschedule the federal status of marijuana, according to The Washington Post. These medical associations feel it is time to discuss rescheduling marijuana’s federal status following the release of multiple scientific research studies supporting the medical benefits and safety of marijuana.

The memo to lawmakers noted that more marijuana needs to be made available by the government for research programs. A 2015 report published from Brookings Institution said that “research-grade drugs that meet researchers’ specifications often take years to acquire, if they are produced at all.” This was to stress the difficulty in obtaining the right marijuana strains and potencies for research purposes.

For the previous 5 years the federal government has supplied marijuana to roughly 9 researchers per year. Researchers stress that this is not enough to keep up with the demand for definitive answers and progress with marijuana use acceptance.

In response to this John Hudak of Brookings Institution said, “That number is totally insufficient to meet public health needs and to answer the number of [research] questions that pop up yearly.”

Rescheduling marijuana on a federal level would help families needing marijuana to treat serious medical conditions from having to pick up and move to another state where it is legalized.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)