Pubdate: Sat, 09 Jul 2011
Source: Columbian, The (WA)
Copyright: 2011 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.columbian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/92
Author: John Hoeffel

U.S. DECREES THAT MARIJUANA HAS NO ACCEPTED MEDICAL USE

LOS ANGELES -- 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 the 
University of California, 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 also has 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 
Association 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."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom