I am not a huge fan of schedules, as my editors can attest.
Schedules by their nature restrict and squeeze and coerce us, sometimes in uncomfortable ways that we didn’t really think about when we penciled in the appointments. I avoid them when I can.
So when two governors—Christine Gregoire of Washington, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island—petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 30 to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act, I cringed a little.
The governors cite growing scientific evidence that pot doesn’t deserve to rub elbows with heroin, LSD and ecstasy, and that it should be allowed in pharmacies by prescription like methamphetamine and cocaine. Yes, you can legally get a prescription for those Schedule II drugs.
I don’t disagree with the reasons why they want marijuana rescheduled. I’m just not so sure it’s the right move in the scheme of things.
The Controlled Substances Act was created in 1970 to do exactly what is says—control substances. The law divides drugs into five categories with varying degrees of regulation and control.
Schedule I was reserved for drugs with no medical use, including pot and peyote. Drugs in Schedules II-V can be prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacies. Schedule II includes Dilaudid, OxyContin, Demerol, cocaine (which is approved as a topical anesthetic) and methamphetamine (which is available under the brand name Desoxyn to treat obesity and ADHD).
There are basically three criteria for Schedule I: lack of medical use, lack of medical safety and high potential for abuse. The governors cite evidence pot has medical value and argue that it has a low potential for abuse compared to other Schedule II drugs. They cite a shift in the medical community since a 2006 federal review.
In 2008, the American College of Physicians urged consideration of moving marijuana from Schedule I. In 2009, the American Medical Association followed suit. It’s time to look at marijuana anew, the governors say.
This isn’t the first time smart people have tried to bump marijuana off Schedule I.
In 1972, just two years after the Controlled Substances Act took effect, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) tried. That case eventually went to court and NORML was denied in 1994. Jon Gettman, a former NORML president, asked again in 1995. It took until 2001 for the feds to reject that plea.
In 2002, Gettman formed the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis for yet another attempt. The rejection of that petition this past June sparked the governors’ try.
The rejection was based on medical science from 2006, and the governors think new science refutes the finding that there is no medical use for pot. Doctors in 16 states and the District of Columbia are successfully and effectively treating a broad spectrum of illnesses with it.
This latest attempt seems a little weightier, since there are chief executives involved. There’s a picture of George Washington on the letterhead, for god’s sake. That might carry a little more heft than NORML, which conjures images of aging hippies and the days of Cheech and Chong. Dave’s not here, man. So maybe the governors have a better chance.
But I think it’s a bad idea. I don’t really want to need to get marijuana from a pharmacy. I don’t want to need to make doctor appointments or fill prescriptions. I don’t want the Great American Drug Machine involved in my medication, so I don’t want it on Schedule I or II or IV or V.
I would rather just grow my own. On my own schedule.
This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2011.
Don’t like schedules eh? Do you show up for work on time, when scheduled? 🙂
Cannabis belongs unscheduled as a medical substance since it’s toxicity is effectively zero to the human body
OMG how do they come up with this stuff – Your last line is wonderful.
J.M. – it isn’t a matter of needing to get marijuana from a pharmacy [most people would agree that would be restrictive prima facie], but sir, if you consider for a moment what “scheduling” refers to, you will no longer (seriously) hold your current view. The scheduling format exists purely to ensure that those drugs which have medical usefulness are available to those persons who would otherwise not have access to them. So moving marijuana from Schedule I to II can only be a progressive move. It would be invalid to propose that one’s uncertainty concerning this issue justifies any assertion for or against it. Regardless of this point, thank you kindly for bringing this issue to other’s attention. We all need to be aware of how these Acts affect our day-to-day life.
Rescheduling may actually be a savvier move than you realize. The ONDCP and its Director (the “drug czar”) are tasked by law with evaluating, overseeing, and coordinating all Federal enforcement of drug law, and are legally required to “take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance… listed in schedule I”. According to the GAO, this means the drug czar and ONDCP are legally compelled to lie if necessary to oppose any effort which could be construed as favoring legalization. Rescheduling cannabis would legally permit Federal drug enforcement policy regarding cannabis to be guided by facts, science, and reason, rather than by a legal mandate for blind, absolute opposition. This could be the keystone which, once removed, finally lets the whole wall of prohibition come down in due course.
First, the scheduling idea was fatally flawed from the beginning. It is based on the idea that anything that does not have medical use should be prohibited. You don’t have to look any farther than alcohol and tobacco to see that this never really was about “scheduling” based on facts. It was simply a sham system set up to justify their preconceived notions. The facts about marijuana weren’t even reviewed before marijuana was placed in Schedule I.
That’s not to mention that heroin (Schedule I) is the same exact drug as ordinary hospital morphine. Except for dosage, the two drugs are entirely interchangeable. So why is heroin completely illegal while morphine is used routinely in medicine? The reason was the same stupid hysteria that got us scheduling. You can read the story at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/st…
The current scheduling of marijuana isn’t even based on the evidence from 2006. The Drug Czar commissioned the Institute of Medicine Report in 1999 to settle the issue of marijuana’s medical issue. The Drug Czar’s own report said that marijuana does have medical uses and that it is the only medicine suitable for some people. So this never was about any real evaluation of the facts.
Scheduling is, and always has been, simply a pretense to continue prohibition. Ask yourself why alcohol and tobacco are not scheduled at all. (Because they would be Schedule I, and we can’t have that.) Why is heroin in Schedule I instead of Schedule II when it is exactly the same drug as morphine?
The reason the government does not want to reschedule is because they recognize it would be the beginning of the end for their whole prohibition game.
I grow my own, that’s all that matters.
For many years, my belief and understanding is that the First Step is to get it off Schedule 1. This has been the block for decades. Once it’s off, it clears the way for medicinal sales, growing your own…and will drive prices down. Schedule 1 has been the thorn in the side that must be removed before anything else can happen. The only people I’ve talked to who are against removing it are either afraid they’ll no longer be able to profit by its sale, or believe the potency will be weakened. I believe both those notions are wrong. Maybe I’ve missed something, but to be against getting it off Schedule 1 seems absolutely ridiculous.