Has the government finally abandoned its anti-science stance on marijuana? (Editorial)

“Will the agency continue to adhere to its long-held, flat-Earther position? Or will it finally take steps to bring marijuana policy into the 21st century?”

Written by Paul Armentano, NORML

Hundreds of pages of recently released documents provided by the Department of Health Services confirm what the majority of the public has known for decades: marijuana is therapeutic. And the harms are not comparable to those of heroin or alcohol, to which heroin is currently considered similar by federal regulations.

These are the clarifications in a letter from the nation’s top federal health agencies, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse asking the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to remove “plant-based cannabis” from Schedule I. That was the conclusion. Prohibited status under the Federal Controlled Substances Act.

By definition, Schedule I substances are classified by the federal government because they have “no currently recognized medical use in the United States,” “have a high potential for abuse,” and “lack a recognized safety under medical supervision.” has been criminalized by Since 1970, Congress and other federal officials have insisted that marijuana remain in this strict category. But now the nation’s top federal health agency is changing its tune.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which was tasked by the Biden administration to review the federal designation of marijuana in 2022, said that part of its conclusions were based on state laws and statutes that “more than 30,000 medical professionals are authorized to recommend marijuana.” Based on the real-world experience of practitioners. It serves more than 6 million state-registered cannabis patients.

“The vast majority of people who use marijuana do so in ways that do not result in dangerous consequences for themselves or others,” the agency concluded. “Our review confirms no safety concerns indicating that medical use of marijuana poses an unacceptably high safety risk for indications for which there is reliable scientific evidence supporting therapeutic use of marijuana.” It was not done.”

Department officials added that “marijuana poses a low public health risk compared to other drugs of abuse, such as benzodiazepines, which are Schedule IV drugs, and alcohol, which is not scheduled at all.”

Of course, the public has long recognized this reality. Thirty-eight states regulate access to medical cannabis, and 24 states, home to 53% of the US population, have legalized adult-use cannabis markets. Most of these statewide policy changes were enacted by voters at the polls.

Nationally, 70 percent of Americans say marijuana should be legal for people over the age of 21. And the majority agree that alcohol is more harmful to health than marijuana.

Yet, for more than 50 years, the federal government and its agencies remained steadfast on this issue. In 2016, the DEA, which has the final say on marijuana’s federal drug designation, said there was no compelling reason to remove marijuana from its Schedule I prohibited status.

Now the ball is once again in the DEA’s court. Will the station continue to adhere to the “flat earth” position it has maintained for years? Or will we finally take steps to bring marijuana policy into the 21st century?

Time will tell. But whatever the outcome, it is clear that Americans are already determined.

Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML, the national agency for marijuana law reform.

This editorial was originally published by OtherWords, adapted from an earlier version published by The Hill.

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