There is a big court battle going on right now to try to get marijuana rescheduled. Currently marijuana is a Schedule I substance according to the federal government, meaning that it has no medical value, and is as dangerous as heroin. This federal classification of marijuana comes despite the facts that the same federal government grows marijuana for medical purposes in Mississippi, supplies the marijuana to federal medical marijuana patients every month, and owns numerous patents related to marijuana’s medical properties. But never mind those pesky facts.
The federal government submitted a court filing yesterday that maintains that marijuana still has no medical value and is a dangerous, addictive drug. Per SF Gate:
Two weeks after President Obama signed legislation prohibiting federal interference with state medical marijuana laws, his administration has told a federal judge in Sacramento that pot is still a dangerous drug with no medical value.
The U.S. attorney’s office, representing Obama’s Justice Department, made the argument in a court filing Wednesday opposing a challenge to the long-standing federal law that classifies marijuana as a Schedule One drug along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy — substances that have a high potential for abuse and no safe medical use.
While there may be “some dispute among doctors as to whether marijuana is medicine,” there is ample evidence to support the government’s conclusion that “this psychoactive, addictive drug is not accepted as safe for medical use at this time, even with medical supervision,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Broderick wrote.
The fact that marijuana is considered to have no medical value by the federal government is slap in the face to science, logic, and compassion. How federal officials can argue against medical marijuana considering they are growing, researching, and distributing medical marijuana is beyond me. The Obama Administration needs to give up this sham and do what’s right and logical.
