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Should We Consider Rescheduling Marijuana?

Brooke Tatum
HLTH 1050
November 20, 2016
Should We Consider Rescheduling Marijuana?
It was a staple item at the protests of the 60s, marijuana. It's been a buzzword for several
years now. Just about every person knows of it or of the current debates surrounding it. However
even with years of debate we still havent seemed to officially decide that marijuana has any
medicinal purposes. Several sects of the United States government say yes it does, yet one sect is
holding firmly to the schedule 1 classification that renders it useless, and makes research on it
almost impossible.
Towards the end of the anti-war protests the Controlled Substances Act was put into
motion in 1970, placing marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. (Controlled Substances Act) Some have
claimed this was an easy way for President Nixon remove the protestors, and others feel that it
was an educated decision. Nixon later appointed a commission to verify the scheduling decision
of marijuana, but the commissions findings didnt agree with his, so he disregarded the scientific
evidence that he had asked for.
The Shafer Commission started 50 projects in 1971 to re-evaluate marijuana. The
commissions conclusions about marijuana were far from what many were expecting. The Shafer
Commission issued a report in 1972 that explained their findings. The report ranges from topics
such as, the need for historical and cultural perspective, marijuana use and effect, and even the
social impacts of marijuana use. The commission came to the conclusion that current laws
against marijuana were too harsh and unjustifiable in regards to the actual potential of harm that
marijuana poses. Basically the commission decided that our punishments do not match up with

Should We Consider Rescheduling Marijuana?


the problems associated with marijuana; its like sentencing a child to 20 years in prison for
stealing a lollipop, this just doesnt add up. The Commission recommends (that the)

possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense. The commission even goes as
far as saying that the, casual distribution of small amounts of marijuana for no remuneration, or
insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense. (The Report of the national) The Schafer
Commission of 1972, another United States Governmental committee, was far ahead of the rest
of us in the fight for the decriminalization and rescheduling of marijuana.
Almost 30 years later, in April of 1999 several scientists from the National Institute of
Mental Health filed for a patent on medical uses of marijuana.

The patent, no. 6630507, was

awarded to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in October of 2003. This patent
recognizes that marijuana has many medical uses for a variety of severe illnesses including,
ischemic attacks, age-related diseases, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune disorders.
(J.A..J. & M.) This patent, which is held by the United States of America, also recognizes that
certain molecules in the marijuana plant can act as neuroprotectants against things like strokes or
brain trauma. (J.A..J. & M.) It also recognizes the benefits of using these compounds in the
treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, and even HIV
dementia. This patent plainly states many therapeutic and medical benefits of marijuana and is
available for the public to look at on the governments patent website/database.
Unfortunately there isnt much more research from our government or government
sponsored programs regarding marijuana because of its classification as a schedule 1 drug. This
classification renders marijuana as a useless drug that is not worthy of any medical research.
Although there has been a push for allowing research there still only remains one (legal) growing
facility for all research marijuana in the United States. Therefore research conducted by the

Should We Consider Rescheduling Marijuana?

government or confirmed by the government remains almost non-existent, but there has been
numerous amounts of private research and research from other credible countries, like Canada,
the UK, Israel, and even the Netherlands on marijuana. (Hogg) This research has shown that
marijuana can be useful in the treatment of ALS, Bipolar Disorder, Cancer, Glaucoma,
HIV/AIDS, Huntingtons Disease, IBD/IBS/Crohns Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Nausea, Pain,
Parkinsons, PTSD, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tourettes Syndrome and even more. (60 Peer
Reviewed Studies)
With all of this evidence in mind it is alarming that the U.S. is still limiting the research
on such a promising drug. If we were to discover a new SSRI molecule or even a new cancer
treatment, we would be pushing it through all phases of trials as fast as possible to help out the
population in need. We would try to get it through all 4 phases of drug trials as quickly as
possible, but with the safety of the public in mind. Why doesnt marijuana deserve this research?
Why doesnt the government want to find out the limitations of its compounds, which the public
and many governmental agencies, like the Shafer Commission, have been screaming for over
decades ago? And most importantly why arent we researching this drug with the thoughts of
long term patient safety in mind, that any other promising drug or compound would receive? The
easiest excuse that the U.S. government claims is because marijuana is a schedule 1 drug (drugs
with no medical use). We need to reschedule this plant for many obvious reasons that the United
States government has even provided us itself. Yet as of August of 2016, the government
continues to reject petitions for rescheduling marijuana (Leger) into a class that would allow this
much needed research, even though the government itself holds a patent for the medical use of
marijuana.
Works Cited

Should We Consider Rescheduling Marijuana?

Controlled Substances Act. (2009, June 11). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from
http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/legislation/ucm148726.htm
GRAVES, G. (2016) The New Science of Marijuana. Prevention, 68(7), 60.
Hogg, C. (2013, April 17). GLOBAL REPORT: 6 COUNTRIES LEADING THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA
DISCUSSION. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://medireview.com/2013/04/our-medical-marijuana-reportlooks-in-at-policies-in-5-countries/
J, A., J., & M. (2003, October 7). United States Patent 6630507. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?
Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN
.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507
Leger, D. L. (2016, August 11). Marijuana to remain illegal under federal law, DEA says. Retrieved November 26,
2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/08/11/dea-marijuana-remains-illegal-under-federallaw/88550804/
T. (n.d.). The Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. Retrieved November 26, 2016,
from http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
60 Peer-Reviewed Studies on Medical Marijuana. (2016, February 10). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000884

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