“The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled on Friday [July 8, 2011] that marijuana has “no accepted medical use” and should therefore remain illegal under federal law — regardless of conflicting state legislation allowing medical marijuana and despite hundreds of studies and centuries of medical practice attesting to the drug’s benefits.
The judgment came in response to a 2002 petition by supporters of medical marijuana, which called on the government to reclassify cannabis, which is currently a Schedule I drug — like heroin, illegal for all uses — and to place it in Schedule III, IV or V, which would allow for common medical uses…
The government had long delayed making a judgment on the petition, but now that it has, it makes it possible for advocates to appeal it in federal court. Now, that process can be set in motion.”
A June 21 letter from DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said marijuana ‘has a high potential for abuse,’ ‘has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States’ and ‘lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.’ The letter was officially published in the Federal Register on July 8, 2011.