Download Why Cannabis should be removed as a Schedule I Drug

The Five Schedules of Controlled Substances
(from 21 U.S.C § 812)
I.
Background
a. Statutory law established the five schedules of controlled substances under
The Controlled Substances Act.
b. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) follows The Controlled
Substances Act in its prosecution for drug related offenses.
II.
What is a Schedule I Drug?
a. It is the only category of controlled substances that may not be prescribed
by a physician.
b. Drugs must meet the following three criteria in order to be placed in
Schedule I:
i. The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
ii. The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States.
iii. There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other
substance under medical supervision.
c. Examples of schedule I drugs: heroin, cocaine, marijuana.
III.
What is a Schedule II Drug?
a. Drugs must meet the following three criteria in order to be placed in
Schedule II:
i. The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
ii. The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical
use with severe restrictions.
iii. Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe
psychological or physical dependence.
b. Examples of schedule II drugs: methadone, oxycodone (OxyContin),
methylphenidate (Ritalin).
IV.
What is a Schedule III Drug?
a. Drugs must meet the following three criteria in order to be placed in
Schedule III:
i. The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse less than the
drugs or other substances in schedules I and II.
ii. The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States.
iii. Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low
physical dependence or high psychological dependence.
b. Examples of schedule III drugs: Anabolic steroids, hydrocodone
(Vicodin), synthetic THC (Marinol).
V.
What is a Schedule IV Drug?
a. Drugs must meet the following three criteria in order to be placed in
Schedule IV:
i. The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative
to the drugs or other substances in schedule III.
ii. The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States.
iii. Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical
dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or
other substances in schedule III.
b. Example of Schedule IV drugs: Alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium).
VI.
What is a Schedule V Drug?
a. Drugs must meet the following three criteria in order to be placed in
Schedule V:
i. The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative
to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV.
ii. The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States.
iii. Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical
dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or
other substances in schedule IV.
b. Examples of Schedule V drugs: Not more than 200 milligrams of codeine
per 100 milliliters or per 100 grams.
Arguments for removal of cannabis as a Schedule I Drug
Main Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act#Schedule_
I.
II.
III.
1
History
a. In 1970, Congress placed cannabis into Schedule I on a provisional
basis under the advice of Roger Egeberg (the Assistant Secretary
of Health at the time).
b. The reason for the provisional placement was because few studies
had been conducted to determine the effects of cannabis at the
time.
i. In his letter to the Chairman of the House Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Harley Staggers),
Egeberg states:
1. “Since there is a still a considerable void in our
knowledge of the plant and effects of the active
drug contained in it, our recommendation is that
marijuana be retained within schedule I at least until
the completion of certain studies now underway to
resolve these issues.1”
Fifteen states have accepted legislation allowing the medical use of
cannabis by their citizens2.
a. Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan,
Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode
Island, Vermont, and Washington all have medical marijuana.
i. At least 35,000 patients are currently using medical
cannabis legally in these states, and over 2,500 different
physicians have recommended it for use by their patients.3
b. The second criterion under The Controlled Substances Act for
classification as a schedule I drug is: there is currently no accepted
medical use in treatment in the United States. Obviously, the fact
that 2,500 physicians recommended cannabis to patients proves
that cannabis is currently accepted in the medical community as
treatment.
Cannabis is non-lethal
a. The third criterion under The Controlled Substance Act is that
there is a lack of general safety for use of the drug.
i. “There are virtually no reports of fatal cannabis overdose in
humans.”4
Jon Gettman (May 13, 1999). "Science And The End Of Marijuana Prohibition". MarijuanaNews.com.
http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/science_and_the_end_of_marijuana.htm..
2
http://www.drugscience.org/amu/amu_medprof.html
3
Accepted Medical Use: Medical Professionals. The 2002 Petition to Reschedule Cannabis (Marijuana).
DrugScience.org.
4
Herkenham M, Lynn A, Little M, Johnson M, Melvin L, de Costa B, Rice K (1990). "Cannabinoid
receptor localization in brain". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87.
ii. Therapeutic index is a way of measuring how safe a
particular substance is to ingest. The way it is measured is
to identify the quantity (dose) that a normal user ingests;
then find out how many “doses” it would take to kill the
normal user. Alcohol, for example, has a therapeutic index
of 1:10. Cannabis is so non-toxic that its ratio is estimated
to be between 1:20,000 and 1:40,000.5
iii. Further, vaporization has been developed as a to administer
cannabis so that the patient does not need to smoke the
plant.
1. Vaporization allows cannabinoids to the
bloodstream almost instantaneously.6
2. This allows patients to self regulate their dosage of
cannabinoids by immediately ceasing inhalation if
the side effects become unpleasant.7
5
http://stash.normal.org/the-deas-top-ten-facts-on-legalization
National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. 1999. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the
Science Base.
7
Growing, L., et al. 1998. Therapeutic use of cannabis: clarifying the debate. Drug and Alcohol Review.
6
The Reschedule Process
Main Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act
#Schedule_
I.
II.
Cannabis could be rescheduled in the following ways:
a. Legislatively, through Congress
b. Through the Executive Branch
c. The Controlled Substance Act provides for a rulemaking process that
allows the Attorney General to reschedule cannabis administratively.
Stages in rescheduling process:8
a. Filing of Petition with The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
b. Acceptance of Petition by DEA
c. Initial Review by DEA
d. Referral to Department of Health and Administration Act (HHS)
i. As set forth by the Controlled Substances Act
e. Scientific and Medical Evaluation by HHS
i. This comes from the HHS Secretary
ii. The findings are binding on the DEA
1. If the Secretary recommends a drug to not be controlled,
then the Attorney General will not be allowed the control
the drug.
f. HHS Report to DEA
g. Evaluation of Additional Information by DEA
h. Publication of DEA Decision
i. (Judicial review by the U.S. Court of Appeals)
j. (Public Hearing on Disputed Matters of Fact)
III. The following factors are considered when controlling a substance:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
8
The drug's actual or relative potential for abuse.
Scientific evidence of its side effects, if known.
The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug.
Its history and current pattern of abuse.
The scope, duration, and significance of abuse.
What, if any, risk there is to the public health.
Its psychological or physiological dependence liability.
Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a controlled
substance.
21 U.S.C. §811b