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| Home: Marijuana: Federal Law |
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- What federal drug schedule does marijuana fall under?
Marijuana is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
Drug scheduling definitions were established by the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The term drug scheduling refers to the tiered system at both the state and federal levels, regulating psychoactive drugs and access to them. There are five schedules. Schedule I includes heroin, LSD and marijuana.
- Has the Supreme Court addressed any case involving marijuana as medicine?
In a unanimous 8-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme court ruled on May 15, 2001 that marijuana may not be distributed to persons who prove a medical necessity for the drug.
The court's decision affirmed an existing federal law that classifies marijuana as an illegal substance and offers no medical exceptions.
- Does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reject crude marijuana as medicine?
Yes, the FDA absolutely rejects smoked marijuana as a medicine. Medical science is willing to approve, after testing, even dangerous drugs if they’ve been shown to be helpful to sick people, but to quote the FDA, “While there are no proven benefits to smoked marijuana use, there are many short and long term risks associated with marijuana use.”
The American Medical Association, along with every other major American health organization in the country, agrees. Research has not demonstrated that smoked marijuana is helpful as medicine. Questions of medicine are for the FDA and medical community to answer – not special interest groups, not public opinion. Our medical system relies on proven scientific research, not polling results. And on questions of medicine and science, the federal government relies on the experts.
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