The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled on July 8, 2011 that marijuana has no accepted medical use and will remain classified as an addictive and dangerous drug, similar to heroin. The ruling was the result of a request made in 2002 for a ruling on marijuana and was published Friday in the Federal Register.
Sixteen states have approved marijuana for medical uses, and a growing body of evidence shows that marijuana is useful in treating some diseases, such as glaucoma. Marijuana has also been shown to increase appetite, which is useful to combat the nausea common with many cancer treatments.
Advocates for medical use of marijuana were critical of the ruling, but happy that it had finally come down, as they can now appeal the ruling to federal courts. The DEA said that marijuana had a high potential for abuse and that there's no accepted medical use in the US.
Research to show positive effects from marijuana is difficult, because the Federal Government lists marijuana as a Schedule I drug, in the same category as heroin. For researchers, this means it's difficult to get approval and obtain samples of the drug for research.
"We're trapped in kind of a vicious cycle here," said Dr. Igor Grant, a neuropsychiatrist quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "It's always a danger if the government acts on certain kinds of persuasions or beliefs rather than evidence."
