U.S. government decrees that marijuana has no accepted medical use

• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-13 11:44

  Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
  
  The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.
  
  Advocates for the medical use of the drug criticized the ruling but were elated that the Obama administration has finally acted, which allows them to appeal to the federal courts. The decision to deny the request was made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and comes less than two months after advocates asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to force the administration to respond to their petition.
  
  "We have foiled the government's strategy of delay, and we can now go head-to-head on the merits," said Joe Elford, the chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access and the lead attorney on the lawsuit.
  
  Elford said he was not surprised by the decision, which comes after the Obama administration announced it would not tolerate large-scale commercial marijuana cultivation. "It is clearly motivated by a political decision that is anti-marijuana," he said. He noted that studies demonstrate pot has beneficial effects, including appetite stimulation for people undergoing chemotherapy. "One of the things people say about marijuana is that it gives you the munchies and the truth is that it does, and for some people that's a very positive thing."
  
  In a June 21 letter to the organizations that filed the petition, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said she rejected the request because marijuana "has a high potential for abuse," "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision." The letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published Friday in the Federal Register.
  
  This is the third time that petitions to reclassify marijuana have been spurned. The first was filed in 1972 and denied 17 years later. The second was filed in 1995 and denied six years later. Both decisions were appealed, but the courts sided with the federal government.
  
  The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis filed its petition in October 2002. In 2004, the DEA asked the Department of Health and Human Services to review the science. The department recommended in 2006 that marijuana remain classified as a dangerous drug. Four and a half years then elapsed before the current administration issued a final denial.
  
  "The regulatory process is just a time-consuming one that usually takes years to go through," said Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
  
  The DEA's decision comes as researchers continue to identify beneficial effects. Dr. Igor Grant, a neuropsychiatrist who is the director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego, said state-supported clinical trials show that marijuana helps with neuropathic pain and muscle spasticity. He said the federal government's position discourages scientists from pursuing research needed to test the drug's medical effectiveness. "We're trapped in kind of a vicious cycle here," he said. "It's always a danger if the government acts on certain kinds of persuasions or beliefs rather than evidence."
  
  Popular opinion has also swung behind medical marijuana. Americans overwhelmingly support it in national polls. When the petition was filed, eight states had approved medical marijuana. Now 16 states and the District of Columbia have done so. In 2009, the American Medical Assn. urged the government to review its classification of marijuana "with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."
  
  When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, it listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug, the most restrictive of five categories. But some federal officials have questioned that decision. In 1972, a commission recommended that marijuana be decriminalized. And in 1988, a DEA administrative law judge concluded that "marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people." The National Cancer Institute, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, notes that marijuana may help with nausea, loss of appetite, pain and insomnia.
  
  Nonetheless, the DEA concluded that marijuana has no accepted medical use, Leonhart wrote in her letter, because its chemistry is not known and adequate studies have not been done on its usefulness or safety. "At this time," she said, "the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."
  

  
  
  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-20110709,0,1346255.story
  
  well
  less chance for the legalization of marijuana in the United states.
  but anyways, the only reason the government agency has behind this stance is that the chemistry of marijuana is vague.
• Joker wrote on 2011-07-13 11:47
  LOL.... I guess California won't be eating as much food anymore...ZING.....
  
  If you didn't get that:
  [SPOILER="Spoiler"]The munchies[/SPOILER]
• Taycat wrote on 2011-07-13 11:59
  It took them this long to figure that out?
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-13 12:53

  Quote from Joker;510657:

  LOL.... I guess California won't be eating as much food anymore...ZING.....
  
  If you didn't get that:
  [SPOILER="Spoiler"]The munchies[/SPOILER]

  
  
  I lol'd but I'm glad its gonna be harder to get a hold of drugs now. More drugs is the last thing America needs.
• Cynic wrote on 2011-07-13 13:21
  It never has had any legit medical use. It works like a depressant and makes you ridiculously hungry. It COULD be used as treatment for patients who refuse to eat, though.
  
  I never have liked it because I saw first hand how badly it can fudge people up, though. It's not an addictive substance by nature, but people still depend on it far too easily. (those with addictive personalities, mind you)
  
  Took the government long enough to realize it. =3=
  
  My Mom thinks it should be allowed for cancer patients, though. Since they can't eat and sh*t. meh.
  
  I never liked it within the system because druggies abuse it. Even with it being illegal, you'd be surprised how many people go out of their way to buy it. It's pathetic.
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-07-13 13:27
  Despite all that, the sad fact remains that pure weed is healthier for you than cigarettes. Yet those are perfectly legal and way more addictive.
• Cynic wrote on 2011-07-13 13:46

  Quote from Osayidan;510687:

  Despite all that, the sad fact remains that pure weed is healthier for you than cigarettes. Yet those are perfectly legal and way more addictive.

  
  
  Well, they don't cause you to turn into a walking "durr" machine and make you unable to do.. basically anything that requires leaving the house. Weed abuse basically turns you into your classic druggie: stupid and slow.
  
  Cigarettes are way worse for your health, but weed is just.. /facepalm. It's so unneeded.
• Fynl wrote on 2011-07-13 14:55
  It pisses me off how the supporters (seem to) only focus on some aspects of the drug, i.e. the munchies, and completely ignores the negative side effects.
• Mama wrote on 2011-07-13 15:53
  I don't really mind when people say they do weed, but I do mind when they do it.. every day.. all the time..
  
  
  

  Quote from Cynic;510685:

  It never has had any legit medical use. It works like a depressant and makes you ridiculously hungry. It COULD be used as treatment for patients who refuse to eat, though.
  

  
  what?! O.O
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-13 23:01

  Quote from Osayidan;510687:

  Despite all that, the sad fact remains that pure weed is healthier for you than cigarettes. Yet those are perfectly legal and way more addictive.

  
  
  Cigarettes should be outlawed too.
• TA wrote on 2011-07-13 23:04

  Quote from Sleeperdial;511101:

  Cigarettes should be outlawed too.

  
  
  I agree. Too many people die from them, even if it is their own choice.
• Phunkie wrote on 2011-07-13 23:38

  Quote from Cynic;510700:

  Well, they don't cause you to turn into a walking "durr" machine and make you unable to do.. basically anything that requires leaving the house. Weed abuse basically turns you into your classic druggie: stupid and slow.
  
  Cigarettes are way worse for your health, but weed is just.. /facepalm. It's so unneeded.

  
  
  No one should be jailed for smoking marijuana.
  
  On top of that, no one has ever died from smoking marijuana.
  
  Cigarettes are so much worse.
  
  
  Also, I don't understand this. How come Canada has legal medical marijuana and sees its medical use and we over here say, oh it has no medical use? That makes no sense.
  
  There are uses to medical marijuana. Period.
  
  Weed is not a dangerous drug. It's time for the American government to realize this.
  
  So stupid. I feel like getting high now out of anger for this country's stupidity.
• Intimacy wrote on 2011-07-13 23:47
  I support legalizing it, like everything moderation is the key, whats wrong with after a hard day at work you come home smoke some relax and enjoy life before another 8 hours of soul sucking torture?
  Idiots do abuse it, but hell idiots would abuse coolwhip if they found out it got you high by injesting 50 pounds of it.
• TA wrote on 2011-07-13 23:49

  Quote from Phigga;511152:

  On top of that, no one has ever died from smoking marijuana.

  
  
  Say someone's driving while high on pot.
  
  Someone runs in front of their car. They have an extremely delayed reaction.
  
  Someone dies.
• Intimacy wrote on 2011-07-13 23:50

  Quote from TA;511167:

  Say someone's driving while high on pot.
  
  Someone runs in front of their car. They have an extremely delayed reaction.
  
  Someone dies.

  
  
  That's idiots driving while smoking it, a lot of weed smokers don't find it to be a good idea to drive, no one has ever died from weed alone, they die from weed + stupidity.
  People die from alcohol and driving more than anyone smoking weed and driving ever has or will.
  Weed does not impair you that much, if you try to focus you actually can, most of us just go with it and have a good time.
  I have never done anything stupid under its use, other than eating 2 bags of chips and sleeping on the floor.