Government-sponsored study destroys DEA’s classification of marijuana

[fredamae]

"A government-sponsored study published this month in The Open Neurology Journal concludes that marijuana provides much-needed relief to some chronic pain sufferers and that more clinical trials are desperately needed, utterly destroying the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) classification of the drug as having no medical uses.

While numerous prior studies have shown marijuana’s usefulness for a host of medical conditions, none have ever gone directly at the DEA’s placement of marijuana atop the schedule of controlled substances. This study, sponsored by the State of California and conducted at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, does precisely that, driving a stake into the heart of America’s continued war on marijuana users by calling the Schedule I placement simply “not accurate” and “not tenable.”

Reacting to the study, Paul Armentano, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told Raw Story that the study clearly proves U.S. drug policy “is neither based upon nor guided by science.”

“In fact, it is hostile to science,” he said. “And despite the Obama Administration’s well publicized 2009 memo stating, ‘Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration,’ there is little to no evidence indicating that the federal government’s ‘See no evil; hear no evil’ approach to cannabis policy is not changing any time soon.”

Schedule I is supposedly reserved for the most inebriating substances that have no medical value, like LSD, ecstasy, peyote and heroin. As the DEA describes it: “Drugs listed in schedule I have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and, therefore, may not be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use. In contrast, drugs listed in schedules II-V have some accepted medical use and may be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use.”

And that’s the problem, the study’s authors portend."[/

Read The Rest Here:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4uLYIB/www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/03/government-sponsored-study-destroys-deas-classification-of-marijuana/

[bemildred]

1. Jobs and money are at stake, mere reason will not sway the drug warriors. nt

[HopeHoops]

2. It should be Schedule V.

[kestrel91316]

3. It should be unscheduled.

[HopeHoops]

4. Well, it is a drug. Schedule V just means it isn't regulated.

[fredamae]

5. Please share the science proving it's a "drug"

The govt can call it anything they want and we are free to believe what they tell us as fact.
In reality however, Cannabis is "produced" thusly: Take a seed, place it in the dirt-water it as needed, it will grow and mature sending out "fruit" in the form of flowers. At the end of its cycle, one harvests the flowers the same as one picks the ripe fruit from a tomato plant. It is dried. It is ready for use in its whole and natural form.
Cannabis is considered a Phytomedicine.
In order for cannabis to be ready for use it requires nothing, no ingredients, no recipe, no processing-No changes from Mother Nature.
I contend it is no more a drug than the Phytomedicine Chamomile.
Sadly the author of this article forgets new studies prove both "Magic Mushrooms and LSD" etc also medicinally therapeutic for folks suffering many mental disorders.

[HopeHoops]

6. I've got personal experience in this arena. But it is also a proven medical drug.

Chamomile is also a drug. So is penneyroyal, horehound, lemon balm, and all sorts of other herbs. They're still drugs. They just shouldn't be Schedule I.

[fredamae]

7. Respectfully, this is your opinion

not science. I appreciate your input.

[kestrel91316]

9. Good God, they shouldn't be anywhere on the Federal Schedule even if they are pharmaceutical

in action. In fact they are herbs and not subject to ANY federal regulation whatsoever. I suppose you'd like them to be.

Very few pharmaceuticals are on the Federal Schedule at all.

[HopeHoops]

11. It is a short list, but it would be a good 1st step to get it the hell out of Schedule I.

[kestrel91316]

8. Wrong. Most pharmaceuticals are NOT scheduled at all. Schedule V is the lowest level a Controlled

Substance can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Schedule_V_drugs_(US)

If I didn't have my DEA registration I could still purchase, prescribe, and otherwise utilize all manner of pharmaceuticals without restriction, including those manufactured for the human market and not approved for veterinary use. But I must have a DEA registration to purchase, possess, prescribe, or utilize Controlled Substances.

[intheflow]

10. Please link to the actual Raw Story link:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/03/government-sponsored-study-destroys-deas-classification-of-marijuana/

I caught a nasty virus stumbling around on stumbleupon.com, so I never, ever, follow links to them. And no need to, since the actual link is included in the stumbleupon address.