Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 2015 Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) Copyright: 2015 The Oregonian Contact: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324 Author: Noelle Crombie PEDIATRICIANS CALL ON FEDS TO RECLASSIFY POT The American Academy of Pediatrics this week weighed in on the classification of marijuana, urging the federal government to reclassify the drug to facilitate research. The organization released a policy statement on marijuana, reaffirming its opposition to legalizing cannabis and expressing concern about the drug's harmful affects on young people. But the group also urged the government to move marijuana from its Schedule I status, where it's grouped with heroin and LSD, to Schedule 2, also considered dangerous but more accessible to researchers. In the government's view, Schedule I drugs have a "high potential" for abuse and offer no medicinal value. Generally, drugs with Schedule I status are not open to research. The Huffington Post reports: The DEA is the federal agency that is primarily responsible for regulating controlled substances like marijuana. But the Food and Drug Administration, along with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, provides the DEA with recommendations about the appropriate level of restriction for various illicit substances. The FDA is already engaged in a review of the medical evidence surrounding the safety and effectiveness of marijuana. The evaluation was initiated due to a request from the DEA, following a number of citizens' petitions asking for a review. According to the Controlled Substances Act, the government must consider eight factors when deciding the schedule under which a substance should be classified. These include its potential for abuse, the state of current scientific knowledge about the substance and its psychic or physiological dependence liability. The FDA could not confirm to The Huffington Post how long the review process takes, but expressed support for AAP's move. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom