FDA Recommends Reclassification Of Marijuana As Schedule III

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Food and Drug Administration is recommending that marijuana be reclassified under federal law, according to WFTS.

In a report released last week, the FDA called on the Drug Enforcement Agency to classify marijuana as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substance Act rather than its current Schedule 1 classification, which is used for the most dangerous controlled substances.

The DEA is currently weighing the matter as part of an initiative by the Biden Administration to review how marijuana is classified under federal law.

In its report calling for a lower classification, the FDA noted that marijuana has been shown to have a legitimate use for medical purposes.

“The definition of a schedule 1 drug says it has no health benefits to it, and, so, obviously, there’s been plenty of research that has documented the multitudes of ways that cannabis can be helpful,” said Dr. David Berger with Wholistic ReLeaf.

Last August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services formally recommended that the DEA classify marijuana as Schedule III.

In January, an FDA scientific panel emphasized that marijuana has a lower potential for abuse than the other Schedule 1 drugs and a risk of low or moderate physical dependence in people who abuse it.

Among the drugs currently labeled as Schedule III are ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone and Tylenol with codeine.

“Although abuse of marijuana produces clear evidence of harmful consequences, including substance use disorder, they are relatively less common and less harmful than some other comparator drugs,” the FDA said.

Dr. Berger pointed out the considerable amount of research indicating the medicinal effects of marijuana on various symptoms.

“It’s no longer appropriate to say that there’s no medical benefit when there are hundreds if not thousands of medical studies that show the opposite,” he said.

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