Federal Action Creates Opportunity to Air Scientific Research Americans for Safe Access and the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) has appealed the federal government's denial of the latest petition to reclassify cannabis as a drug with therapeutic uses. ASA's July appeal to the D.C. Circuit comes just two weeks after another ASA legal action forced action from the government, which had been stalling on a decision since the rescheduling petition was filed back in 2002 by a coalition of patients and advocacy groups. ASA's appeal will argue that the federal government's decision contradicts the scientific consensus on the medical value of cannabis and harms the millions of patients throughout the United States who might benefit from this uniquely safe and effective medication. "By ignoring the wealth of scientific evidence that clearly shows the therapeutic value of cannabis, the Obama Administration is playing politics at the expense of sick and dying Americans," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who filed the notice of appeal. "For the first time in more than 15 years, we will be able to present evidence in court to challenge the government's flawed position on medical cannabis." For more than 40 years the federal government has classified cannabis as a dangerous drug with no medical value, despite documented use in medicine dating back thousands of years, and thousands of modern scientific articles and studies showing its broad medical applications. Although two other rescheduling petitions have been filed since the establishment of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, the merits of medical efficacy was reviewed only once by the courts in 1994. But in 1988, the DEA was told to reschedule cannabis by its own Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, who concluded after extensive hearings that, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." The government ignored his ruling. "Federal agencies have been using every trick in the book to block research and keep this medicine from patients," said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. "But the research that's been done tells us it has the potential to treat cancer, MS, Alzheimer's and a host of other conditions conventional medications cannot." Since the CRC petition was filed almost a decade ago, even more scientific studies have been published that show the medical benefits of cannabis for a wide variety of conditions, including recent research that shows it is effective for fighting many types of cancer tumors. Earlier this year, the National Cancer Institute, a division of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, added cannabis to its list of Complementary Alternative Medicines for cancer treatment,. "We're holding the Obama Administration accountable for its promise to preserve and promote scientific integrity," said Elford. "The time has come to put the politics aside and do what doctors tell us is right for their patients." Currently, pharmaceutical companies are seeking permission to extract THC from cannabis plants to make a generic form of Marinol®, a costly Schedule III drug made synthetically.
I've asked and said it before, and I will do so again: WHY, oh why, is the existence of the government's patent on CBD as medicine NEVER mentioned or used as a tactic by the marijuana reform organizations? What more "proof" needs exist as to medical benefit? It feels like the proverbial elephant in the room always.
I completely agree, and hope it comes up in the appeal.I wish i knew how long the appeal process took.
Basically the DEA can't even debate this issue because they know how badly they'll lose. As a result they're just acting like children with a "I don't even need to debate this nonsense. I'm right cause I'm the law" attitude. I mean even COCAINE is schedule 2. That alone immediately should bring pot down a level or two.
Seriously...i agree completely.Unless the judge at the appeal is a complete widgit in the governments corner i think we will prevail.
Not to mention the drug marinol...i mean really?Theres no medicinal use...yet marinol derived from THC is a prescription drug wtf.
I've answered this before and I will do so again )): The government did not patent "CBD". The patent you are referring to is for a method: And although CBD is mentioned in the patent text, it is not singled out as the specific cannabinoid to be used for this method. The patent mentions a number of synthetic cannabinoid analogues as well. While this may be part of the argument for establishing medical use of cannabis, it is far from "all the proof they need". No one, not even NIDA or the DEA, is denying the existence of the endocannabinoid system or cannabinoids and their place in medicine. The patent is not specifically about whole plant cannabis, however. It is about a method to use cannabinoids, and there are sources of cannabinoids other than cannabis.
I get what your saying.What ive noticed is the fact that the government doesnt want to deal with the whole "smoking" of cannabis...that is going to be the next obstical.Nobody wants to say smoking anything is good.The government is going to use that next i believe.
It's kind of bizarre that the U.S. Govt is so publically corrupt, that they can try to distance themselves from the behavior of Richard Nixon, while pouring billions of tax paying dollars into a law by Richard Nixon, that by the very definition of the constitution, over reaches the boundaries of the federal govt. Even when their own scientists do public studies that refute their propaganda, they continue to lie to our faces and ignore the facts. I don't understand how we can continue to vote these people back into office year after year and how policies that are based on corruption by a corrupt president can still be a law. Fact: The Govt of the U.S. is corrupt Fact: Marijuana has medicinal benefits Fact: The federal govt grows and provides medicine to a handful of people grandfathered into a program from 30 years ago, while incarcerating people for doing the same thing. Fact: Marijuana is a gateway drug to a less dangerous drug called cocaine according to its classification Why can't we change these policies if the majority don't agree with them? Do people even vote anymore? Do the people on these forums bother to vote? Do they educate their family and friends about it and ask them to vote?