Last updated : November 11, 2024
After years of anticipation, effective August 11th, 2016, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) determined its stance on whether or not marijuana should be moved from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug. The answer? No. Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Other drugs on the list include substances such as heroin, LSD, Ecstasy, bath salts, khat (cathinones), GHB, Quaaludes and Peyote. Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous.
This isn’t the first time the DEA has refused to reschedule marijuana. The rationale continues to be that there’s not enough scientific evidence to support the fact that weed has medical value.
This may seem a bit contradictory, given the fact that more and more states are legalizing marijuana for medical use, including Ohio. House Bill 523 went into effect on September 8, 2016, making it the twenty fifth state to approve marijuana for twenty different medical conditions.
Here’s what’s going on. Up until now, the University of Mississippi has been the only grower to be federally sanctioned to grow marijuana to be used for scientific research. The restriction has so limited the supply of marijuana for federally approved research that scientists said it could often take years to obtain it and, in some cases, it was impossible to get. Instead of changing the scheduling, the DEA, FDA (Federal Drug Administration) and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) have teamed up to not only expand research, but to also increase the number of approved growers going forward. More marijuana means more opportunity for research. Former restrictions on its growth have, therefore, made the opportunity for research self-limiting. Now, however, these new rules “will create a supply of research-grade marijuana that is diverse but, more importantly, it will be competitive and you will have growers motivated to meet the demand of researches,” said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Any institution that has an approved research protocol and the proper security measures to store dangerous drugs will be able to apply.
Researches will still have to receive approval from federal agencies to conduct medical studies of marijuana, including the DEA and FDA. If someone has a project funded by NIDA (National Institute for Drug Addiction, a branch of the NIH), they will also need consent.
Of particular interest to researchers is the cannibidiol (CBD) in marijuana and its potential therapeutic value. CBD is the portion of the THC (trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) that does not create euphoria or a high. Fifteen states have enacted laws intended to allow access to CBD oil and/or high-CBD strains of marijuana. Interest in the potential therapeutic effects of CBD has been growing rapidly, partially in response to media attention surrounding the use of CBD oil in young children with intractable seizure disorders including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Tune into our upcoming blog to learn more about CBD and the future of marijuana research for treatment of approved medical conditions.
As stated by Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration drug-policy adviser and President of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, “it’s a good day for science.”
