Why the Federal Government Will Not Reschedule Marijuana

Why the Federal Government Will Not Reschedule Marijuana
By Jennifer Alexander, Examiner - August 22 2012



Activists have been working for years to reform state and local marijuana laws throughout the nation through decriminalization, implementation of medical marijuana laws and, most recently, attempts at legalizing marijuana. Many opponents, and even some activists, argue that marijuana must be rescheduled at the federal level before state-level legalization.

Since the Controlled Substances Act was implemented in the 70’s, there have been multiple attempts to reschedule marijuana at the federal level, which have each been denied after excessive delays. After the most recent denial of a rescheduling petition, a lawsuit challenging the classification of marijuana in Schedule I will finally be heard before the Circuit Court in Washington D.C. on October 16, 2012.

Americans for Safe Access, the organization which filed the lawsuit, claims that the scheduling of marijuana in Schedule I is “politically motivated decision-making.”

"Medical marijuana patients are finally getting their day in court," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access, the country's leading medical marijuana advocacy group. "This is a rare opportunity for patients to confront politically motivated decision-making with scientific evidence of marijuana's medical efficacy," continued Elford. "What's at stake in this case is nothing less than our country's scientific integrity and the imminent needs of millions of patients."

Read the entire article at Examiner.