Marijuana: Colorado to formally ask DEA to designate pot Schedule II controlled substance DenverWest / Michael Roberts / 10,20,2011 The Drug Enforcement Administration dubs marijuana a Schedule I controlled substance -- meaning it has no accepted medical use. Switching pot to Schedule II, like morphine and cocaine, among other drugs, would instantly change the dynamic between the feds and medical marijuana states. And a Colorado spokesman confirms that his agency will make such a request by year's end. Not that the state has a choice. Hidden within the language of House Bill 1284, the 2010 measure that established the regulatory structure for medical marijuana in Colorado, is a passage that enumerates the powers and duties of the state licensing authority. Under the heading "The state licensing authority shall," the seventh of them reads: IN RECOGNITION OF THE POTENTIAL MEDICINAL VALUE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA, MAKE A REQUEST BY JANUARY 1, 2012, TO THE FEDERAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION TO CONSIDER RESCHEDULING, FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES, MEDICAL MARIJUANA FROM A SCHEDULE I CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TO A SCHEDULE II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE. And who is the state licensing authority? An earlier section of the bill hands this role to "the executive director of the Department of Revenue or the deputy director of the Department of Revenue if the executive director so designates." Barbara Brohl. That means Barbara Brohl, who was appointed executive director of the DOR on June 30 by Governor John Hickenlooper, is the person directed to make such a request. She hasn't designated this role to a deputy because, says Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch, there is not presently a deputy to whom she could do so. Did the folks at the department remember this was on their state-mandated to-do list before receiving a call from Westword? That's unclear. But Couch emphasizes that Brohl will do so. "There's a 'shall' on this in 1284," he points out. "It's on her radar," Couch adds. "She is aware of it. And I talked to the director of the Enforcement Division, George Thomson, and he's aware of it, too." How and when will such a request be made? Will Brohl simply write a letter? Or will she pull together a more robust package featuring data demonstrating marijuana's medical qualities and Colorado's buy-in, as epitomized by a constitutional amendment and a regulatory scheme applied to hundreds of MMJ enterprises statewide? To whom at the DEA or the Justice Department will this material be addressed? And what kind of follow-up/lobbying will or will not accompany it? All of that is "in development, at their discretion," Couch says. And while he doesn't have a timetable for the submission yet, he expects that it will "probably be sent closer to the deadline." In other words, there's a lot up in the air. But what's not is Brohl's charge -- to formally request that the DEA move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II.
This is excellent! Lol However, wasn't there a previous request for the DEA to reschedule cannabis some months ago and they pretty much just ignored it? Maybe I'm crazy but I'm pretty sure this happened. Google knows all.
Yeah they shot down the idea not too long ago. Maybe since there's a little more pressure on them now things will go different.
it will most likely get shot down again by the dea, and to be honest im kinda wishing CO wasnt planning on asking......i absolutely dont want anything to do with the feds.
full legalization is something that should be sought after. If you try to use the medical pathway you have to fight against billions of dollars worth of pharma lobbyists
The DEA's own administrative judge recommended it be changed to a lower schedule of control. He was summarily ignored. It's the top dog at the DEA who in turn is beholden to the President and his cabinet. Kudos to CO for making a statement. They should claim state's sovereignty and lower the schedule through their own Dept. of Health Services. After all, by legalizing cannabis at the state level, CO and two thirds of the rest of the United States have told the Fed where to put their Schedule I.
Honestly how long can the DEA continue to be this stubborn? All they're doing is making themselves looking bad now and eroding whatever public support they have left.
It is kind of like drinking from a spittoon,,once you start,it comes out in a string. They don't want to have their budgets cut,,unemployment benefits don't last as long as they have been suckling off the government teat. Removing cannabis from schedule 1 takes the control of the clinical testing from the DEA,,legalization will occur when that happens,,and they know it,,that is why the ignored the 2 judges.
A step in the right direction, but not far enough! Logically cannabis should be de-scheduled, not stuck in with Schedule 2's "dangerous, but with some medical uses"! I worry that by making cannabis "Schedule 2", it being a PRESCRIPTION DRUG, we will be banned from "manufacturing" it without a (expensive) license! Could this turn into another ploy for "Ya can't have it"? Granny
Moving it to any other schedule removes control of the studies allowed on marijuana from the DEA and NIDA,,once that happens Granny,,the rest will occur.
You figure with all the recent changes in belief towards cannabis, that this would be passed? I mean apparently, according to MSNBC,CNN, and even Fox News cannabis legalization has like 50% of Americans backing it? Ovbiously those statistics aren't realistic, or completely accurate. However we have been granted much more media attention recently!
The proposed initiative in CA for 2012 (Regulate Marijuana Like Wine) includes this: Regulate Marijuana Like Wine | By REGULATING Marijuana the Economy Can Sustain Growth, Improve Safety and Sustain Industry Development Kudos to Colorado in this effort!
Yes,it is,but,even schedule 2 removes control of the studies allowed on cannabis from the bureaucracies in charge of keeping it prohibited. Which means Kerli will not be able to budget millions of dollars buying science and spewing propaganda. How long do you think marijuana would be prohibited if they just turned science loose? They have spent 40 years looking for harm in cannabis and have found numerous medical properties in cannabis,looking for harm,,think if they had been searching for the "good" in cannabis.