Pubdate: Tue, 08 Oct 2013
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Bob Egelko

PRESCRIBING MARIJUANA STILL ILLEGAL

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a San Francisco group's challenge 
Monday to the federal government's refusal to allow doctors to 
prescribe marijuana, leaving intact the government's classification 
of the drug as a dangerous substance with no legitimate uses.

The advocacy group Americans for Safe Access contended that more than 
200 studies, performed and reviewed by medical professionals, have 
established that marijuana is both safe and effective in relieving 
pain and nausea, and in relieving the effects of chemotherapy for 
cancer patients. But federal courts have deferred to the Drug 
Enforcement Administration's conclusion that the drug's effects have 
not been adequately studied.

Americans for Safe Access asked the Drug Enforcement Administration 
in 2002 to remove marijuana from the list of drugs with no 
permissible use, which also include heroin and LSD, and put it in the 
same classification as codeine and some steroids and barbiturates 
that doctors can prescribe.

The agency took nearly nine years to reject the request, saying in 
July 2011 that marijuana's effectiveness had not yet been confirmed 
by any long-term studies with large numbers of patients. The U.S. 
Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled in January that the DEA 
had reasonably interpreted its own regulations, and the Supreme Court 
denied review Monday.

The advocacy group's lawyer remained optimistic.

"I think it's just a matter of time," said San Francisco attorney 
Joseph Elford, noting that medical studies are continuing. He said 
the governors of several states that have legalized marijuana for 
medical or personal use have also asked the DEA to reconsider the 
drug's status.

"It's absurd to say it has a higher abuse potential than cocaine and 
methamphetamine," which can be prescribed, Elford said. He said 
President Obama could, if he chose, reclassify marijuana with an 
executive order.

The appeals court, in its 3-0 ruling, acknowledged that a 1999 report 
from the prestigious Institute of Medicine "does indeed suggest that 
marijuana might have medical benefits." But the court said the DEA 
reasonably interpreted the report as a recommendation for more 
thorough studies.

"Substantial evidence supports its conclusion that such studies do 
not exist," the court said.

The case is Americans for Safe Access vs. DEA, 13-84.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom