[Kzyxtalk] BAD NEWS FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION ADVOCATES

[sako4 at comcast.net]

BAD NEWS FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION ADVOCATES 
Those of us who are marijuana legalization advocates had hoped the cascade of states moving to legalize medical marijuana would soften the federal stance on the drug faced disappointment Thursday as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it will keep marijuana illegal for any purpose. 
Marijuana will remain a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Substances in Schedule 1 are determined by the Food and Drug Administration to have no medical use. States that allow marijuana for medical use or legalize recreational use remain in defiance of federal law. 
The announcement to be formally published on Friday in the Federal Register relaxes the rules for marijuana research to make it easier for institutions to grow marijuana for scientific study. The DEA currently authorizes just one grow facility in Mississippi. 
In reaching its conclusion, the DEA says that a Health and Human Services evaluation shows that marijuana has no ‘‘currently accepted medical use’’ because "the drug’s chemistry is not known and reproducible; there are no adequate safety studies; there are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy; the drug is not accepted by qualified experts; and the scientific evidence is not widely available." 
"At this time," the DEA concludes, "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." 
The decision signals a difficult road ahead for legalization efforts, including those in the State of California and Mendocino County. Also, companies that seek to use CBD, or cannabidiol, as medicine, will have to go through the same rigorous scientific evaluation as traditional pharmaceutical drugs. 
Here is the DEA's decision published online today, August 12: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-17960.pdf 






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