Pubdate: Thu, 11 Aug 2016
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.utsandiego.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Note: Seldom prints LTEs from outside it's circulation area.

U.S. EXPECTED TO ALLOW MORE MARIJUANA RESEARCH

SEATTLE - The federal government will announce today that it will 
allow more research into marijuana but has rejected requests to relax 
the classification of the substance as a dangerous drug with no 
medical use, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The decision is the Drug Enforcement Administration's response to a 
2011 petition by two former state governors who had urged federal 
agencies to re-classify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical 
uses, the two sources said on Wednesday. They requested anonymity 
because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

The DEA declined to comment. But earlier on Wednesday, the agency had 
sent emails, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, to parties that 
had expressed an interest in the matter, saying it would be making 
"important announcements regarding marijuana related topics" today.

The Food and Drug Administration did not immediately respond to 
requests for comment.

For decades, marijuana has been classified as a "Schedule 1" drug 
with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for 
abuse," on par with heroin. The government has repeatedly rejected 
appeals over the years to reclassify marijuana. Loosening that 
definition could encourage scientific study of a drug that is being 
used to treat diseases in several U.S. states despite little proof of 
its effectiveness.

REUTERS
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