Marijuana and the DEA

Four weeks ago, the Drug Enforcement Administration decided to leave marijuana on the list of Schedule 1 drugs -- which is the list of drugs considered most dangerous.  Changing it to a Schedule 2 drug would make it easier to get studies approved, and would make it possible for doctors to prescribe marijuana-derived drugs -- eventually.  Studies have shown that marijuana can relieve nausea, improve appetite, and ease painful spasms.  But according to a press release from the DEA, "marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse."  Check out this page from the National Institutes of Health on the dangers of recreational use.

Though an attempt to place marijuana legalization on the November 2016 ballot in Missouri failed, we can expect to see this issue resurface in the future.  Recreational marijuana is currently legal in four states and Washington, D.C., and medical marijuana is legal in 25 states.