Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire has joined Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee in calling for the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a medical substance, allowing for states to regulate its use.
“The divergence in state and federal law creates a situation where there is no regulated and safe system to supply legitimate patients who may need medical cannabis,” Gregoire, a Democrat, and Chafee, an independent, wrote Wednesday to Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele M. Leonhart.
Washington and Rhode Island are among 16 states that have decriminalized medical marijuana, which is classified federally as a Schedule I controlled substance, and face federal prosecution for trying to regulate its use, The New York Times reported.
If marijuana were reclassified as a Schedule II controlled substance, as the governors requested, it would be acknowledged as having “some accepted medical use and may be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use.” It could then be dispensed at pharmacies. In 2009, the American Medical Association called for the drug's status to be reviewed in the interest of advancing medical research.
Washington legalized medical marijuana in 1998, but has since faced retaliation from the Justice Department, which said “state employees who conducted activities mandated by the Washington legislative proposals would not be immune from liability," the Times reported.
“What we have out here on the ground is chaos,” Gregoire told the Times. “And in the midst of all the chaos we have patients who really either feel like they’re criminals or may be engaged in some criminal activity, and really are legitimate patients who want medicinal marijuana."
