Pubdate: Sun, 17 May 2015 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 POT NOT AMONG 'MOST DANGEROUS' DRUGS As the debate over medical marijuana continues in California and nationally, one bureaucratic step to lessen tensions would be to change its "drug schedule" listing. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration classifies drugs into five "schedules ... depending upon the drug's acceptable medical use and the drug's abuse or dependency potential." Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, "defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence." Drugs lower down the scale - from Schedule II to Schedule V - represent declining risks of abuse and dependence. Many are prescribed by physicians. Schedule II drugs include Vicodin, OxyContin, Demerol and Ritalin. Drugs on the more severe schedules are prosecuted more severely by federal drug-enforcement authorities. Some drugs currently slotted in Schedule I include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone and peyote. Yet common sense, and the votes of millions of Americans, have indicated a strong disconnect between what the public wants and the insistance of the federal government in keeping marijuana on Schedule I. People just don't accept that a cancer patient smoking a joint to stimulate the appetite is the same as a junkie shooting up smack. "Cannabis is legal as a therapeutic by statute in 23 states and Washington, D.C.," including California, Paul Armentano told us; he's the deputy director of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws. "A specific compound in marijuana, cannabidiol, is exempted by statute in another 14 states. How do these laws conform to the notion that cannabis possesses 'no accepted medical use?'" According to a study by the Brookings Institution, there are two ways marijuana's schedule can be changed. One is for Congress to amend the Controlled Substances Act to shift marijuana from Schedule I, "or remove it from the schedules entirely." Unfortunately, the recent takeover of Congress by Republicans makes that less likely. The second is for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to move pot from Schedule I. A presidential executive order would not be needed. Rather, President Obama would ask her to take that action. We urge him to do so, or, at least, explain why he won't. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom