Rescheduling of Marijuana Suffers Legal Setback

I used to say I was not a political animal.  Pharmacology has become political.  Not my fault; that’s for sure.

Marijuana has suffered a legal setback.  This has not been covered by a lot of the media.  I had a heck of a time finding it.

Lots of folks, even major networks, covered the review of the Schedule 1 status of marijuana.  Schedule 1 means no known medical use.  Things like cocaine and crystal meth are in this category, and I have no problem leaving them there.  Lots of folks have been trying to find ways to get marijuana out of this classification. I am a “book nerd” who also reads articles.  Most of them are professional medical literature.  I love foreign languages, too. I would say that about 200 papers are published every year about marijuana’s therapeutic uses.  Some are from the U.S., with lots of good ones from California.  At this moment, I cannot think of a single one that fails to show marijuana can be a helpful treatment. I see people who are doing better, whether it’s by remaining functional or by remaining alive, who bless marijuana and thank it for saving their life and function. On Tuesday, January 22, the U.S Court of Appeals said no change to the marijuana status. It’s still Schedule 1.  It’s still deemed to have no medical use; therefore, still illegal as far as the federal government is concerned.  Because it is illegal, it cannot be prescribed. The court of appeals decided that the DEA was not “arbitrary and capricious” in making its decision for Schedule 1.  I guess this is one hunk of government saying another hunk of government was within its rights.  It sounds like a technicality.  It sounds like what happens when people who have the means put together teams of lawyers – kind of like O.J. I do not believe I have ever heard such blatant lies in the face of massive, international scientific evidence.  I know there will be more petitions coming. I also understand the President could, at least in theory, overturn this any time he wanted. To say this is ridiculous is an understatement. I am watching, as is the world, as are lots of really good scientists.  We are watching along with lots of good people who owe their lives, their abilities to walk, and talk, and work to marijuana; whose benefits are not going to go away.