U.S. DECREES THAT MARIJUANA HAS NO ACCEPTED MEDICAL USE

LOS ANGELES -- Marijuana has been approved by California, many other
states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in
a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has
no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly
dangerous drug like heroin.

The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana
supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into
account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its
effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and
multiple sclerosis.

Advocates for the medical use of the drug criticized the ruling but
were elated that the Obama administration has finally acted, which
allows them to appeal to the federal courts. The decision to deny the
request was made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and
comes less than two months after advocates asked the U.S. Court of
Appeals to force the administration to respond to their petition.

"We have foiled the government's strategy of delay, and we can now go
head-to-head on the merits," said Joe Elford, the chief counsel for
Americans for Safe Access and the lead attorney on the lawsuit.

Elford said he was not surprised by the decision, which comes after
the Obama administration announced it would not tolerate large-scale
commercial marijuana cultivation. "It is clearly motivated by a
political decision that is anti-marijuana," he said. He noted that
studies demonstrate pot has beneficial effects, including appetite
stimulation for people undergoing chemotherapy. "One of the things
people say about marijuana is that it gives you the munchies and the
truth is that it does, and for some people that's a very positive thing."

In a June 21 letter to the organizations that filed the petition, DEA
Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said she rejected the request
because marijuana "has a high potential for abuse," "has no currently
accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "lacks
accepted safety for use under medical supervision." The letter and 37
pages of supporting documents were published Friday in the Federal Register.

This is the third time that petitions to reclassify marijuana have
been spurned. The first was filed in 1972 and denied 17 years later.
The second was filed in 1995 and denied six years later. Both
decisions were appealed, but the courts sided with the federal government.

The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis filed its petition in October
2002. In 2004, the DEA asked the Department of Health and Human
Services to review the science. The department recommended in 2006
that marijuana remain classified as a dangerous drug. Four and a half
years then elapsed before the current administration issued a final denial.

"The regulatory process is just a time-consuming one that usually
takes years to go through," said Barbara Carreno, a spokeswoman for
the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA's decision comes as researchers continue to identify
beneficial effects. Dr. Igor Grant, a neuropsychiatrist who is the
director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the
University of California, San Diego, said state-supported clinical
trials show that marijuana helps with neuropathic pain and muscle
spasticity. He said the federal government's position discourages
scientists from pursuing research needed to test the drug's medical
effectiveness. "We're trapped in kind of a vicious cycle here," he
said. "It's always a danger if the government acts on certain kinds
of persuasions or beliefs rather than evidence."

Popular opinion also has swung behind medical marijuana. Americans
overwhelmingly support it in national polls. When the petition was
filed, eight states had approved medical marijuana. Now 16 states and
the District of Columbia have done so. In 2009, the American Medical
Association urged the government to review its classification of
marijuana "with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical
research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and
alternate delivery methods."

When Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, it listed
marijuana as a Schedule I drug, the most restrictive of five
categories. But some federal officials have questioned that decision.
In 1972, a commission recommended that marijuana be decriminalized.
And in 1988, a DEA administrative law judge concluded that "marijuana
has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great
numbers of very ill people." The National Cancer Institute, which is
part of the Department of Health and Human Services, notes that
marijuana may help with nausea, loss of appetite, pain and insomnia.

Nonetheless, the DEA concluded that marijuana has no accepted medical
use, Leonhart wrote in her letter, because its chemistry is not known
and adequate studies have not been done on its usefulness or safety.
"At this time," she said, "the known risks of marijuana use have not
been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled
clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."