HOUSTON — Since 1972, marijuana has been listed as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Schedule I drugs are deemed to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. That means cannabis is in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. These categories were created by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
Schedule II drugs have a risk of abuse but also a medical purpose. Those drugs include morphine, cocaine and oxycodone.
Schedule III through Schedule IV five drugs have a lower risk of abuse and are considered safe and effective in medicine, like Xanax and valium.
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Thanks to these categories, on paper, the federal government considered marijuana more dangerous than oxycodone. Since 1972, researchers have identified several medical uses for THC and CBD, both found in cannabis plants. That means the FDA has approved cannabis-related drugs for everything from seizures to nausea caused by cancer treatment.
According to Scientific American, previous efforts to downgrade marijuana to Schedule III have run into a serious roadblock. The only way to establish that pot does not have a high potential for abuse is through research. The only federally legal source of cannabis for research is the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is mandated by Congress to only study its harms. Changing pot to a Schedule III drug would make it easier for scientists to not only research the potential for abuse but also its medical uses.