Scientists recommend easing restrictions on marijuana – 01/15/2024 – Balance and Health

Marijuana is not as risky or as prone to abuse as other tightly controlled substances. It also has potential medical benefits and should therefore be removed from the most restrictive drug category in the United States, federal scientists have concluded.

The recommendations are contained in a 250-page scientific review provided to Matthew Zorn, a Texas lawyer who sued officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for its release and published it online last Friday. fair. The authenticity of the document was confirmed by an official working at the agency.

The records shed light for the first time on the thinking of federal health officials who are debating this important change. The agencies involved have not publicly commented on discussions on the topic, equivalent to a reevaluation of marijuana at the federal level.

Since 1970, marijuana has been considered a Schedule I drug, a category that also includes heroin. Schedule I drugs are not indicated for medical use and have a high potential for abuse. They are also criminalized with serious penalties under federal trafficking laws.

The documents show that scientists from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, while alongside substances such as ketamine and testosterone, which are available under medical prescription.

The recommendation is evaluated by the DEA, which is expected to formally announce its decision in the coming months. The reclassification will be subject to public comment and debate before being finalized.

The scientific assessment has sparked tensions between career officials at the DEA, a notoriously conservative narcotics enforcement and control agency, and the researchers and health officials who support the reclassification, according to two senior administration officials.

In 2016, the DEA rejected a petition to reclassify marijuana, citing the position of federal health officials at the time: “Marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and does not have an acceptable level of safety even under medical supervision.”

Last month, Michael Miller, a Justice Department official, defended the DEA’s prerogative to make the final decision on the administration’s position.

“The DEA has the final authority to classify, reclassify, or declassify a drug under the Controlled Substances Act, considering relevant statutory and regulatory criteria and HHS scientific and medical evaluation,” he wrote in a letter to Rep. Earl Blumenauer , Democrat from Oregon, who pushed the DEA to reconsider marijuana.