FDA WON’T RE-SCHEDULE MARIJUANA BUT WILL ALLOW RESEARCH

Posted on by Jorge Pereira, Esq.

The FDA has decided that it will not re-schedule marijuana under the Federal Controlled Substance Act but will allow more research of marijuana.   After months of speculation of whether the FDA would reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II, the FDA is electing to take this half-hearted measure. The Federal government’s policy on marijuana has relaxed some in light of the nation’s changing laws and opinions toward marijuana -25 states have legalized medical marijuana and four states have legalized adult use or recreational marijuana.   However, the continued classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse does not reflect the views of the American people. A new Gallop poll shows that 1 in 8 – 13% – Americans currently use marijuana, and 43% said they have tried marijuana. Let’s face it, marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol and has been shown to have substantial benefits and applications to numerous medical conditions.

While only a baby step, it is welcome news to the marijuana industry that greater research will be allowed.   The change in Federal policy will allow universities and other licensed research facilities to grow and conduct research which will, hopefully, lead to greater supply of research grade marijuana and further changes in the law.   However, the federal government will likely create another level of regulation, and the criminal stigma and penalty associated with a Schedule I drug remains.

The move does represent a further relaxing of the views of the Federal government toward marijuana which first started with the DOJ’s Cole Memos.

The Federal government may publish the new policy as soon as today in the Federal Register.

For the DOJ’s explanation for rejected rescheduling, see DOJ Acting Administrator, Chuck Rosenberg, August 11, 2016 letter. DOJ Letter Rejecting Rescheduling

Published by Jorge Pereira, Esq.

I was born in Portugal and raised in Bethlehem after immigrating with his family to the Lehigh Valley at the age of 2. I attended Rutgers University, New Brunswick graduating with B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Psychology. After graduating with honors from Rutgers University, I attended Rutgers-Newark Law School. While at Rutgers-Newark Law School, I was part of Appellate Moot Court, Urban Legal Clinic and the Animal Rights Clinic. Upon graduating Rutgers-Newark Law School Law, I initially practiced at a small boutique law firm in Newark, New Jersey but always maintained a desire to return to his home in the Lehigh Valley. I spent the last eighteen years working in civil litigation and personal injury law firms in the Lehigh Valley. For the last sixteen years, I has worked at an Allentown law firm, The Law of Business, P.C. f/k/a Douglas M. Marinos & Associates, P.C. focusing on business divorce, corporate law, creditor’s rights and general civil litigation. I am a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars and admitted to practice in the United States District Court of Pennsylvania for the Eastern District and the United States District Court of New Jersey. I have litigated cases throughout the Courts of Common Pleas of Eastern Pennsylvania from Susquehanna County to Philadelphia County and represented both debtors and creditors in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Middle District of Pennsylvania. As counsel for Sovereign Bank, I wrote the appellate brief in the precedent setting decision in the matter of Sovereign Bank v. Schwab, 414 F.3d 450 (3rd Cir. 2005). I am an avid cigar smoker and a founding member, board member and former officer of the Lehigh Valley Cigar Club, a non-profit social club with over 200 members dedicated to protecting and promoting the enjoyment of cigar smoking in the Lehigh Valley.I played Rugby for ten years on the men’s team of the Lehigh Valley Rugby Football Club, becoming a captain of the men’s team, and President of the club. I own a commercial building in the historical district of Main Street, Bethlehem where my business partner and I own a hair salon, Hair Studio Main.

2 thoughts on “FDA WON’T RE-SCHEDULE MARIJUANA BUT WILL ALLOW RESEARCH”

  1. Thank you for sharing. I’ve been managing and auditing Clinical Trials of all sorts for the past 15 years, and I hadn’t even heard this yet.

    Just goes to show there’s more excellent info in the Prince Law Blog to use as a resource than just about my Tax Stamps!

    Thanks!

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