3 Factors That Could Change The DEA's Mind About Marijuana

Katelyn Baker

Well-Known Member
As we look back at 2016, pro-legalization enthusiasts, as well as hopeful investors, have every reason to smile at the progress that's been made with marijuana.

While still an illegal substance at the federal level, five new states approved cannabis for medicinal use in 2016 (two of which did so entirely through the legislative process), and residents in four states voted to legalize recreational pot. The year ends with medical marijuana legal in 28 states, and eight states having legalized adult-use recreational weed. Not bad at all considering that two decades ago just one state, California, had legalized medical cannabis, and the thought of recreational marijuana in 1996 was almost laughable, with three-quarters of all respondents in Gallup's national poll not favoring its legalization. Today, 60% of polled respondents favor legalizing pot nationally.

With the shifting trends in opinion there's also been a surge of green -- dollars, that is! Investment firm Cowen & Co.'s recent forecast suggests that legal marijuana sales could grow from $6 billion in 2016 to $50 billion by 2026, which represents a decade-long compound annual growth rate of more than 23%. Furthermore, the number of legal pot jobs is expected to double or triple in the years to come, which is equivalent to as many as 300,000 new jobs being added.

This DEA decision took center stage
Yet, what may wind up being marijuana's most memorable moment in 2016 was the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's decision in August to deny two petitions requesting that marijuana be rescheduled or removed from the scheduling status entirely. The DEA, which sought and considered the opinion of the Department of Health and Human Services, offered three particular reasons for declining to change marijuana's schedule 1 status.

First, the DEA and HHS evaluation both agreed that pot demonstrated a high potential for abuse. Secondly, the DEA and HHS found that medical cannabis has no acceptable medical use, at least as of now. Finally, there was a lack of safety evidence to suggest that marijuana could be used as a medical treatment, even if under medical supervision.

Considering that petitions to reschedule marijuana often take years to work their way up to the DEA, it could be a while before the regulatory agency even considers pot's medical fate once again. However, should that time come around sooner rather than later, three factors could sway the DEA's mind about marijuana.

Three factors that could change the DEA's mind about marijuana
The first thing the DEA would need to see is clear clinical evidence that marijuana provides medical benefits. Of course, this is probably the trickiest piece of evidence to provide, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't exactly been forthcoming with requests for FDA-designed clinical trials involving pot. We've been witnessing a trend toward research leniency when it comes to cannabis, but you should also remember that clinical trials can take quite a bit of time to run and analyze.

Another component that the DEA would need, which goes hand-in-hand with the first point, is clear evidence that cannabis is safe for medical patients. For both of the first two points many pro-legalization advocates will point to the millions of long-term marijuana users, as well as published clinical studies in various journals, as more than enough evidence to suggest pot is safe and effective in treating certain ailments. But the DEA and HHS would only consider the well-crafted trials of the FDA, essentially negating all other previously published studies that the FDA didn't oversee.

Finally, the DEA would need evidence that the chemistry of marijuana is better understood by the FDA and researchers. In other words, the components of cannabis aren't considered reproducible at the moment, so researchers would need to further dissect the chemistry behind the plant to understand how it positively or negative impacts the body.

If all three factors were met, it's possible the DEA could change its tune.

There's a downside, too
But it's important that potential investors and marijuana enthusiasts also understand that even if the DEA reschedules cannabis, things won't necessarily get any easier for the industry.

If the DEA determines that the aforementioned factors are met in a later rescheduling analysis of pot, and the agency chooses to reschedule cannabis, the drug would then fall under the tight regulatory authority of the FDA. The FDA would have the power to approve the marketing and packaging of medical marijuana companies, and it would likely oversee the growing and processing of cannabis used for medicinal purposes. More importantly, the FDA could require additional clinical trials be run for the specific ailments that marijuana is targeting. Long story short, FDA oversight would probably mean a huge increase in expenses for the medical marijuana industry up and down the supply chain.

It's this sort of Catch-22 (patients lose out if cannabis remains a schedule 1 drug, while pot businesses could be crushed if regulated by the FDA) that makes the future of marijuana very cloudy, and which should give prospective investors reason to pause.

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News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: 3 Factors That Could Change The DEA's Mind About Marijuana
Author: Sean Williams
Contact: The Motley Fool
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Motley Fool
 
What needs to be done is to expose the real reasons why cannabis is in Schedule I.

Why is cannabis still in Schedule I?
One reason is the pharmaceutical industry. A study, which appears in Health Affairs found that states that legalized medical marijuana – which is sometimes recommended for symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety, or depression – saw declines in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs used to treat those conditions and a dip in spending by Medicare Part D, which covers the cost on prescription medications. Decreased demand for these type of prescriptions is one cause why pharmaceutical companies lobby aggressively for cannabis to remain illegal.
It should also be noted that prescription pain medicine deaths have dropped 25% in states that allow medical cannabis. This study by co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek." (This information should be promoted at every opportunity)
Even industrial hemp was outlawed. The cotton industry and all its peripheral industries such as herbicide and pesticide producers are threatened by the prospect of hemp cutting into their profits. Cotton is one of the five major crops produced in Senator Sessions' state of Alabama. (Our soon to be Attorney General)
The beer, wine, and liquor industries lobby against it being removed from Schedule I because people can grow it themselves and there is no hangover the next morning.
Many in the criminal Justice system lobby to keep it in Schedule I. Prison guard organizations contributed to fight legalization because it would reduce prison populations and could cause reductions in the level of staff needed.
Law enforcement uses asset forfeiture egregiously in many cases pointing to Cannabis being in Schedule I as justification.
The pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and the banking industry are all part of an organized front to keep cannabis in schedule one to protect huge profits from patented cannabis derivatives that are already contained in the cannabis plant without resort to patented processes. Many of these patents are owned jointly by government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, universities, and banks. (See "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXPOSED: Marijuana Banking Conspiracy Revealed")
Former DEA Spokeswoman: Marijuana is Safe and The DEA Knows It:
Quotes from Belita Nelson, former DEA spokesperson, who was the chief propagandist for the DEA:
"Marijuana is safe, we know it is safe. It's our cash cow and we will never give up," Belita Nelson told an audience of doctors and nurses at the Marijuana for Medical Professionals Conference in Denver, Colorado this month.

Nelson says that was the first thing she learned from her Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) education coordinator, Paul Villaescusa, when she was hired in the Dallas office in April 1998.

Nelson states that when she began to expose the truth the DEA tried to keep her quiet and told her. "name your price, $10,000 a month? $20,000? What do you want Belita?"
"Gradually, I came out of my shell and that dark place I had been because of what I had experience and what I had seen... If you think the DEA are the good guys, they are not. They are really not. We are talking corruption on steroids."
Read more at #illegallyhealed

Maybe someone should get some Wikileaks hackers to get the dirt on the DEA, big Pharm, and others that make millions by keeping cannabis in schedule I.
 
Why is cannabis still in Schedule I? (The following NEEDS to be exposed)
One reason is the pharmaceutical industry. A study, which appears in Health Affairs found that states that legalized medical marijuana — which is sometimes recommended for symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety, or depression — saw declines in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs used to treat those conditions and a dip in spending by Medicare Part D, which covers the cost on prescription medications. Decreased demand for these type of prescriptions is one cause why pharmaceutical companies lobby aggressively for cannabis to remain illegal.
It should also be noted that prescription pain medicine deaths have dropped 25% in states that allow medical cannabis. This study by co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. “The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek.”
Even industrial hemp was outlawed. The cotton industry and all its peripheral industries such as herbicide and pesticide producers are threatened by the prospect of hemp cutting into their profits. Cotton is one of the five major crops produced in Senator Sessions’ state of Alabama.
The beer, wine, and liquor industries lobby against it being removed from Schedule I because people can grow it themselves and there is no hangover the next morning.
Many in the criminal Justice system lobby to keep it in Schedule I. Prison guard organizations contributed to fight legalization because it would reduce prison populations and could cause reductions in the level of staff needed.
Law enforcement uses asset forfeiture egregiously in many cases pointing to Cannabis being in Schedule I as justification.
The pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and the banking industry are all part of an organized front to keep cannabis in schedule one to protect huge profits from patented cannabis derivatives that are already contained in the cannabis plant without resort to patented processes. Many of these patents are owned jointly by government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and banks. (See “FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXPOSED: Marijuana Banking Conspiracy Revealed”)
Former DEA Spokeswoman: Marijuana is Safe and The DEA Knows It:
Quotes from Belita Nelson, former DEA spokesperson, who was the chief propagandist for the DEA:
“Marijuana is safe, we know it is safe. It’s our cash cow and we will never give up,” Belita Nelson told an audience of doctors and nurses at the Marijuana for Medical Professionals Conference in Denver, Colorado this month.

Nelson says that was the first thing she learned from her Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) education coordinator, Paul Villaescusa, when she was hired in the Dallas office in April 1998.

Nelson states that when she began to expose the truth the DEA tried to keep her quiet and told her. “name your price, $10,000 a month? $20,000? What do you want Belita?”
“Gradually, I came out of my shell and that dark place I had been because of what I had experience and what I had seen… If you think the DEA are the good guys, they are not. They are really not. We are talking corruption on steroids.”
Read more at #illegallyhealed
 
Government funded studies that contradict placing cannabis in Schedule I.

1. 1860, Ohio State Medical Society, first U.S. government study of Cannabis.
2. Late 1894, British Official Indian Hemp Commission:
3. 1970s, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Jamaica study:
4. 1970s, NIDA studies in Greece and Costa Rica:
5. 1944, La Guardia Report:
6. 1968, Wooten Report by the British Parliament:
7. 1972, Shafer Commission Report under Nixon administration:
8. Mar. 1, 2011 European Journal of Neurology
9. Aug. 30, 2010 Canadian Medical Association Journal

Cannabis should be COMPLETELY de-scheduled!!

If it is placed in a lower schedule, the FDA will saddle it with so many regulations that it would be worse than the present situation.
 
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