The following US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Drug Rescheduling Criteria details the requirements that marijuana, currently a Schedule I drug, must meet before the DEA will agree to lower the marijuana’s Schedule to permit physicians to easily prescribe it to patients. (see “What is Federal drug scheduling?“, “Should marijuana be reclassified as a drug generally available by prescription (Schedule II or III)?,” and the most recent Petition to Reschedule Cannabis (Marijuana) (PDF) DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY’S FIVE-FACTOR TEST FOR [DRUG] RESCHEDULING [Formulated in 1992 in response to a court challenge to scheduling.} 1. The drug’s chemistry must be known and reproducible.
2. There must be adequate safety studies.
3. There must be adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.
4. The drug must be accepted by qualified experts.
5. The scientific evidence must be widely available.
[Cited Sources: LeCraw (1996) and 57 Federal Register 10499 (1992)] |