Washington, DC: A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week denied petitioners request to overturn the Obama administration’s July 2011 rejection of an administrative petition that sought to initiate hearings regarding the reclassification of marijuana under federal law.
Petitioners sought a hearing regarding whether existing science contradicts the federal categorization of cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance that possesses "a high potential for abuse;" "no currently accepted medical use in treatment;" and "a lack of accepted safety for the use of the drug … under medical supervision." The Court affirmed the position of the US Drug Enforcement Administration that, at this time, insufficient clinical studies exist to warrant a judicial review of cannabis’ federally prohibited status.
Petitioners are expected to appeal the decision.
For more information, please visit: http://safeaccessnow.org. Full text of the decision, Americans for Safe Access et al. v. Drug Enforcement Administration, is available online here: http://americansforsafeaccess.org/downloads/CRC_Appeal.pdf.