DEA refuses to ease marijuana restrictions

Posted by | August 11, 2016 18:29 | Filed under: News Behaving Badly Politics

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The Drug Enforcement Administration has decided to keep marijuana among the most restricted drugs.

Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg says the decision is rooted in science. Rosenberg gave “enormous weight” to conclusions by the Food and Drug Administration that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” and by some measures, it remains highly vulnerable to abuse as the most commonly used illicit drug across the nation.

“This decision isn’t based on danger. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine,” he said, “and it’s not.”

After Medical Marijuana Legalized, Medicare Prescriptions Drop For Many Drugs
Marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and LSD, while other, highly addictive substances including oxycodone and methamphetamine are regulated differently under Schedule II of the law. But marijuana’s designation has nothing to do with danger, Rosenberg said.

In a letter to the petitioners, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and New Mexico nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm, Rosenberg said doctors are responsible for treating patients, but the FDA makes decisions about drug safety: “Simply put, evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drugs is a highly specialized endeavor.”

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Copyright 2016 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

51 responses to DEA refuses to ease marijuana restrictions

  1. arc99 August 11th, 2016 at 18:35

    This is one subject where I think it is entirely appropriate to put on my non-science right winger hat and ask

    “If marijuana is not medicine, then how come I feel good after I smoke it?”

  2. TiredOldGuy August 11th, 2016 at 18:54

    But if we make drugs legal what will we do with the 10,000 plus DEA agents?

    • Roctuna August 11th, 2016 at 18:57

      Awful lot of money being confiscated by law enforcement and “earned” by the prison-industrial complex and they spend a significant percentage lobbying against the end to the war on drugs.

      • TiredOldGuy August 11th, 2016 at 19:06

        Awful lot of money that could be used for education (that might eliminate some future Repubs) and infrastructure.

        • Roctuna August 11th, 2016 at 19:12

          Yeah, that educated voter really scares the crap out of them

    • Larry Schmitt August 11th, 2016 at 19:01

      Make them TSA agents. Maybe we can get through the airport on time.

      • bpollen August 12th, 2016 at 05:58

        They won’t want to take the cut in pay… not as much bribe money in passenger screening.

    • dewired4u August 11th, 2016 at 20:49

      you want meth legal?

      • StoneyCurtisll August 11th, 2016 at 21:28

        Meth already comes in a legal form..
        it’s called Methamphetamine hydrochloride, and sold under the trade name Desoxyn, and has been approved by the FDA for treating ADHD and obesity in both adults and children…
        Methamphetamine is sometimes prescribed off label for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia..
        It is classifed as a schedule II controlled substances in the US.

      • Budda August 12th, 2016 at 07:00

        Maybe ALL drugs should not be a legal issue so much as a health issue.

    • StoneyCurtisll August 11th, 2016 at 21:21

      Bingo…
      It a “jobs killer”…:)

  3. lolana August 11th, 2016 at 18:56

    doesn’t Uncle Sam have a patent on medical marijuana? Didn’t George Washington separate the male and female plants on his cannabis farm? crimeny. update: here it is http://www.leafscience.com/2014/07/25/u-s-government-patent-marijuana/

  4. Roctuna August 11th, 2016 at 18:58

    The feds won’t fund studies to investigate the medical applications and then lo and behold they claim there’s no safe medical applications. What a surprise.

  5. Dirk Prophet August 11th, 2016 at 19:11

    Just maybe the Drug Enforcement Administration isn’t the right org to be considering this. Just maybe there is a conflict of interests.
    Just maybe the Center for Disease Control might have a less corrupt assessment

    http://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2016/3/18/45g7l80k0vufyjyhb06z2ttgxdj3vk.

  6. amersham1046 August 11th, 2016 at 19:16

    New Canadian medical marijuana rules open door to more legal home-growing
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/medical-marijuana-home-growing-law-1.3716860

  7. Suzanne McFly August 11th, 2016 at 20:02

    How can a drug be used legally for medicinal purposes and be considered a schedule one drug at the same time? Makes no sense, I hope legalization hurts the prescription drug companies and all the billions they gained by making sure weed isn’t legalized.

    • lolana August 11th, 2016 at 22:48

      Medical marijuana was legalized in California in 96 but law enforcement still continues to harass, arrest and loot dispensary owners, it’s ongoing. They say federal law…..apparently CA law doesn’t matter.

      • Suzanne McFly August 11th, 2016 at 22:56

        California is voting for recreational use in November, correct? If so, that will hopefully stop the perverted interpretation of the law.

        • lolana August 11th, 2016 at 23:16

          Yes we are! It will be interesting to see where it goes from there. It’s been a slow process……across the country..but when I moved out here I was surprised to find so many potheads among my acquaintances and colleagues. So Cali already was very into its green.

          • Suzanne McFly August 11th, 2016 at 23:56

            There are a lot more potheads than most of us realize. I was in the military and knew a lot of fellow member who smoked. Now I am a teacher, and I know a few who smoke as well. The people I know are responsible adults who smoke it and function as well as anyone else does. I also have seen people who come in after a night of drinking and they are worthless, they couldn’t be productive if their lives depended on it. Alcohol is much worse than weed ever could be, it is only the pharmaceutical companies who are stopping this.

    • crc3 August 11th, 2016 at 23:21

      Big pharma, the DEA, and law enforcement in general are all in cahoots to keep marijuana illegal but they are failing. Marijuana has been a schedule 1 drug since the 1930s. It’s totally ridiculous it’s in the same category as heroin, cocaine and LSD. Here’s more info…

      http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place

      • Suzanne McFly August 11th, 2016 at 23:57

        I know, we are on the same page but I think we will be seeing a big change soon.

        • crc3 August 12th, 2016 at 08:06

          From your mouth to God’s ears my friend!!

    • Larry Schmitt August 12th, 2016 at 07:50

      But, but, REEFER MADNESS!!!
      https://youtu.be/Azf320JDdqU

      • crc3 August 12th, 2016 at 09:02

        LOL…great comedy!!

      • Suzanne McFly August 12th, 2016 at 13:20

        I loved that movie when I was a kid, we laughed and laughed, then toked and toked LOL.

  8. Gary Parillo August 11th, 2016 at 20:40

    So fda makes decisions about drug safety?They dont seem to be very good at that,since hundreds of “approved” drugs,have killed and sickened millions! Cannabis has never killed anyone and has been used thousands of years.No currently accepted medical use?Is that why marinol,a cannabis derivative,has been govt. approved and in use medically for decades?And is currently in use medically in 23 states,and in other countries for a variety of ailments!The war on cannabis was begun based on lies and misinformation,and the lies and misinformation continue.What a terrible disorder to be afraid of a weed.

  9. StoneyCurtisll August 11th, 2016 at 21:19

    The DEA ease restrictions on Marijuana?…
    And help put themselves out of a job?…
    Are you kidding me?

    • bpollen August 12th, 2016 at 05:54

      The main function of a bureaucracy is to preserve the bureaucracy.

    • Budda August 12th, 2016 at 06:54

      Exactly.

  10. crc3 August 11th, 2016 at 23:09

    Total BS! The DEA is the biggest waste of taxpayers money in history! They stop maybe 10% of all drug traffic (if that much). They are paid off by big pharma, law enforcement, and prison systems not to lower classification and to slow legalization. Same classification as heroin, cocaine and LSD my ass!!!

  11. fahvel August 12th, 2016 at 04:00

    if they are after unsafe and dangerous drugs, there would be nothing on pharmacy shelves. And no more cool tv shows with dea all decked out in full combat body armour.

  12. oldfart August 12th, 2016 at 09:47

    It’s natural, it’s organic.
    and I blame (thank) god because he put it here in the first place. ;)

    • Jimmy Fleck August 12th, 2016 at 12:52

      Lead, arsenic, and uranium are natural and organic – do you plan on ingesting those too?

      • oldfart August 12th, 2016 at 14:10

        Unless you live on another planet, EVERYTHING you eat, drink and breathe in, has those elements and more in it.
        And thanks to republicans you can expect much more
        coming to a red state near you.

      • Um Cara August 12th, 2016 at 14:30

        Lead, arsenic, and uranium are natural and organic – do you plan on ingesting those too?

        They are natural, but they certainly aren’t organic.

  13. Um Cara August 12th, 2016 at 10:33

    Given the Obama administration’s continued stance that folks should be caged for cannabis, I’m sure he has instructed the DEA to cage his daughter.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/11/what-is-malia-obama-smoking-presidents-daughter-suspected-of-can/

    • whatthe46 August 12th, 2016 at 10:56

      Obama commuted/pardoned 100s who were serving time for pot. So that’s a lie.

      • Um Cara August 12th, 2016 at 11:41

        Negatory, good buddy*. The Obama administration is pro-caging of cannabis offenders. They have caged many, many, many.

        https://www.thenation.com/article/obamas-war-pot/

        A June 2013 report issued by Americans for Safe Access found that the DEA had carried out some 270 medical marijuana raids under Obama—twelve more than had been conducted in the previous twelve years combined. It calculated that the Obama administration had spent $300 million “interfering” with state medical marijuana laws in the last four and a half years, outspending the Bush administration (both terms) by $100 million.

        *Unless you meant it was a lie that I was sure he instructed the DEA to cage his daughter. Given that he has never turned himself in for prosecution of his many cannabis crimes, I don’t really think he believes the laws should apply to himself or his family.

        • whatthe46 August 12th, 2016 at 12:02

          Its obvious that he no longer holds that position isn’t it? He feels it should be legalized.

          • Um Cara August 12th, 2016 at 12:11

            Can you please source that? The very article we are chatting on says his administration wants to keep it listed as Schedule I, not remove it from the controlled substances listing, or even take most minimal of steps in rescheduling it.

            • whatthe46 August 12th, 2016 at 12:38

              I wish I could. I’m using my cell so I can’t copy & paste the url. But there’s an article in the WA times see Gary Johnson and an article posted on 3/17/16. You’ll have to Google it.

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