Cannabis is still highly dangerous and has no place in modern medicine, according to the U.S. government – who still wants a bigger and better supply of the troubled stuff on hand anyway, just in case.
And Uncle Sam wants you – yes, you – to try and grow some research-grade cannabis for your country. But good luck with that. It won’t be easy.
This past summer, after several unexplained delays, fueling unfounded rumors that the Obama Administration would legalize marijuana of its own volition, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Aug. 12 that it would not be removing marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
Despite a growing body of knowledge in other countries and a majority of American states with some kind of medical marijuana program, the decision to leave marijuana in the Schedule I designation means pot is still officially as dangerous as heroin and LSD. Cocaine and methamphetamine (both Schedule II) are officially safer and more beneficial.
The reasons why, given by Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg, is a continuation of the circular logic that’s fueled the U.S. war on weed for more than four decades. And the DEA’s own language now seems to suggest that Big Pharma – not the cannabis industry – will have the inside track to a better supply.
“There is growing public interest in exploring the possibility that marijuana or its chemical constituents may be used as potential treatments for certain medical conditions,” Rosenberg wrote in a letter published in the Federal Register on Aug. 12. “One of the ways DEA can help to facilitate research involving marijuana is to take steps to increase the lawful supply of marijuana available to researchers.”
— Read the full story by Chris Roberts at Cannabis Now