DEA - DEA's Cannabis Classification: Time To Right A Decades-Old Mistake As Feds Confirm Marijuana's Medical Benefits | Benzinga
Schedule I drugs are defined by the DEA as substances with no "currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” The list includes heroin, LSD, ecstasy, meth, peyote, and, for the past 24 years, cannabis.
With Friday’s release of documents related to the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) review of cannabis, federal researchers found that cannabis indeed "has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and that its "potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II." Hence, the HHS made a recommendation to the DEA to remove cannabis from its onerous Schedule I status.
HHS officials found that more than 30,000 healthcare professionals "across 43 U.S. jurisdictions are authorized to recommend the medical use of marijuana ...