On Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) declares that marijuana
will continue to be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, which
means it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential
for abuse.” On the
federal level, the narcotic is would still be categorized in the same way as heroin
and cocaine.
The announcement is in response to two recent petitions asking the agency
to reclassify marijuana to a lower drug category for the benefit of scientific
research. The decision was determined by a “scientific and medical
evaluation” orchestrated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) upon the DEA’s request.
At the same time, the DEA also announced a new policy targeted to increasing
the supply of marijuana available for researches. Since 1968, the U.S.
only relied on the substance produced by the University of Mississippi,
which is funded by a contract from the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
to support federally-funded research. Now, more universities will be eligible
to grow marijuana for research.
"The DEA and the FDA continue to believe that scientifically valid
and well-controlled clinical trials conduct under the investigational
new drug (IND) applications are the most appropriative way to conduct
research on the medical uses of marijuana,” said a statement from the DEA.
At least 25 states and the District of Columbia have approved the use of
marijuana for medical purposes. The federal government has adopted a practice
of not prosecuting those who use marijuana based on their home-state laws.
For more information about the marijuana laws in Virginia,
contact The Law Offices of Daniel J. Miller and speak with a Virginia Beach criminal defense attorney today.