Strong attempt at reclassification

[zen_trikester]

Hey guys!
This could be really good news but it won't be. Since the 70's advocacy groups like NORML have been pushing to get MJ reclassified. This is the latest attempt which has been stalled for 10 years. If we get any federal response to this law suit, it will be some line of crap that amounts to "Blah blah blah... tough shit, it is still illegal!"

Lets be sure to talk this up to people though, and get the word out that this is how the federal government treats its citizens. If this was a immigration or insurance issue it would be all over the news, but since it is the devil weed, we only read about these things on the net. For those out there who are into late breaking mj/mmj news I highly recommend subscribing to the NORML blog. Lots of great info such as this!

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Advocates File Lawsuit Demanding Federal Government Assess Medical Value Of Cannabis

<small>May 23rd, 2011 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director</small>
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A coalition of public interest advocacy groups filed suit today in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to compel the Obama administration to respond to a nine-year-old petition to reclassify marijuana under federal law.
The suit was filed by attorneys Joe Elford of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and Michael Kennedy of the NORML Legal Committee on behalf of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC). The Coalition, which includes NORML and California NORML, filed a comprehensive rescheduling petition with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on October 9, 2002 challenging marijuana’s Schedule I classification as a controlled substance with “no currently accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse.” The agency formally accepted the petition for filing on April 3, 2003, and per the provisions of the United States Controlled Substances Act (CSA) referred the petition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July 2004 for a full scientific and medical evaluation.
To date, the federal government has not publicly responded to the petition.
Today’s lawsuit petitions the Court for a writ of mandamus “directing the DEA and the Attorney General to issue a full and final determination on petitioners’ Petition to reschedule marijuana, or, alternatively, state whether it will initiate rulemaking proceedings, within 60 days.”
It states: “The DEA’s delay here of more than eight years since the rescheduling Petition was filed — and more than four years since it received HHS’ binding evaluation and recommendations — is inexcusable. … [T]his agency delay in acting on the rescheduling Petition is unreasonable, requiring this Court to intervene.”
Under the CSA, the Attorney General has the authority to reschedule a drug if he finds that it does not meet the criteria for the schedule to which it has been assigned. The Attorney General has delegated this authority to the Administrator of the DEA, presently Michelle Leonhart.
The 2002 CRC petition seeks to reschedule cannabis from its Schedule I designation to a less restrictive class under the CSA “on the grounds that: (1) marijuana does have accepted medical uses in the United States; (2) it is safe for use under medical supervision and has an abuse potential lower than Schedule I and II drugs; and (3) it has a dependence liability that is also lower than Schedule I or II drugs.”
NORML filed a similar rescheduling petition with the DEA in 1972, but was not granted a federal hearing on the issue until 1986. In 1988, DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young ruled that marijuana did not meet the legal criteria of a Schedule I prohibited drug and should be reclassified. Then-DEA Administrator John Lawn rejected Young’s determination, a decision the D.C. Court of Appeals eventually affirmed in 1994.
A subsequent petition was filed by former NORML Director in 1995, but was rejected by the DEA in 2001.
Additional information on this suit will appear in this week’s NORML news update. To receive these e-mail updates free, please sign up here.

 

[budlover123]

Analysis of "Schedule I" classification of marijuana

Analysis of "Schedule I" classification of marijuana

This is an excerpt from the controlled substances act of 1970, this is the part that describes what a schedule 1 drug is.

Brought to you by Richard Nixon

Marijuana is considered a "schedule I" drug

(1) Schedule I.—
(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision."

No prescriptions may be written for Schedule I substances, and such substances are subject to production quotas by the DEA. Under the DEA's interpretation

So over 10 years after "medical" marijuana has been on the books, marijuana is still considered a schedule one drug why exactly?

(A)might be true, but not nearly as bad as alcohol, and (c) is only true because of lies.

 

[Hydrosun]

So over 10 years after "medical" marijuana has been on the books, marijuana is still considered a schedule one drug why exactly?

Because the US Federal government is move EVIL than the Nazi's or Khmer Rouge. At least those genocidal regimes never claimed to be stewards of a free and open society.

Land of the free home of the brave, my fucking ass.

 

[TurboFish]

so basicaly we find out FOR SURE in 60 days???

 

[contra]

Whatever the court may decide, you can be certain the decision has already been made behind closed doors. (or behind closed minds I should think) There is simply too much change posed by a rescheduling for this not to be the case. For instance, if cannabis is rescheduled (as a drug or "other substance"), then the industrial hemp industry likewise will explode. When the economy does start to go green, cannabis will begin to outcompete other industries at such a rapid pace that we cannot just say the economy will boom. If you subscribe to any of the figures relating how much of energy, textile, and other industries can be replaced by a single plant, it becomes obvious that many many people are going to lose jobs. In this situation the government's role would be to slow the pace at which cannabis displaces other industries so as to keep the peace. Making this change take place over a 15 year period or so rather than just a few will save a lot of people from having to drastically alter their lifestyle. Despite being more legally correct, practically and in terms of responsible governemnt, this much change cannot happen all at once without causing widespread unrest. Lucky for us this has been a long time in the making. I would love to whitness a weed rapture in which almost overnight pharma, oil, and other rapists of our world are put out of business, but this sort of karmaic resolution takes time. It's a shame that so many people will suffer on top of those who already have due to past mistakes. This sort of socio-economic revolution should have taken place over 80 years ago.

 

[Hydrosun]

so basicaly we find out FOR SURE in 60 days???

Did you read the OP? The fuck tard US Government has been STALLING since 1972, yep almost FORTY FUCKING years, so yeah we'll know "FOR SURE" in 60 days

 

[Bonghitz]

Wow contra. Best post I've read in a long time.

 

[zen_trikester]

Whatever the court may decide, you can be certain the decision has already been made behind closed doors. (or behind closed minds I should think) There is simply too much change posed by a rescheduling for this not to be the case. For instance, if cannabis is rescheduled (as a drug or "other substance"), then the industrial hemp industry likewise will explode. When the economy does start to go green, cannabis will begin to outcompete other industries at such a rapid pace that we cannot just say the economy will boom. If you subscribe to any of the figures relating how much of energy, textile, and other industries can be replaced by a single plant, it becomes obvious that many many people are going to lose jobs. In this situation the government's role would be to slow the pace at which cannabis displaces other industries so as to keep the peace. Making this change take place over a 15 year period or so rather than just a few will save a lot of people from having to drastically alter their lifestyle. Despite being more legally correct, practically and in terms of responsible governemnt, this much change cannot happen all at once without causing widespread unrest. Lucky for us this has been a long time in the making. I would love to whitness a weed rapture in which almost overnight pharma, oil, and other rapists of our world are put out of business, but this sort of karmaic resolution takes time. It's a shame that so many people will suffer on top of those who already have due to past mistakes. This sort of socio-economic revolution should have taken place over 80 years ago.

Very true. However, I can't imagine there are any industries that will be affected that have not already started perparing for this. I'm sure there are individuals with their head in the sand, and some that are so busy manning their defense that they are disregarding the need for a change of offense... but certainly there are those from competing industries that are preparing for the inevitable. I would LOVE to see the overnight turning of the tide myself, but it would take some time to get the infrastructure worked out, and then more time to get consumers educated. Especially with hemp products.

It has just gone on so long. Eventually people are going to notice, but are we there yet? Our government will only stop the lies when they think they can no longer get away with it.

 

[guest86120975]

Isn't this a little like asking the devil for salvation? I really can't imagine why anyone thinks asking the DEA for this stands any hope.

 

[zen_trikester]

Isn't this a little like asking the devil for salvation? I really can't imagine why anyone thinks asking the DEA for this stands any hope.

Yes, as I said at the top of the page it won't amount to anything most likely, but it is another action against the will of the people and goes a long way to show their hypocrisy on this issue. We see this shit and know that the government is lying to us to protect outside interests. the bulk of the world doesn't see any of this. They just see it as the DEA maintaining their laws for the good of the people. Some may even see it as a cross between the two. Either way, since we are the ones who are most aware of this deceit, and most knowledgeable on the benefits of the plant itself, we need to be sure we point it out to our peers when we have the opportunity.

If we never talked about the Rodney King beating the world would be a different place, but because people were finally fed up with the behavior that was running rampant in law enforcement, it has gotten better. Now, even I won't pretend that freeing weed is more important than treating people humanely and not persecuting people for the color of their skin, but I do believe it will take the same type of disgust for the actions of the "powers that be" to make the change we need. We need to help people see this as a human rights, state rights, and an excess government control issue because that is what it is.

I don't hold much hope for a reclassification based on this law suit, but I DO hope that we get some press out of it. A few respected news sources covering this news and pointing out the fact that we are right will go a long way!!! The sheeple need their trough since they apparently can't forage on their own.

I guess we will see how it all goes down soon!!

 

[trichrider]

i was excited by the hoopla too, till i read that the US Attorney General(Eric Holder) had delegated the decision to Michelle Leonhart, that sealed its fate.

 

[budlover123]

...I don't hold much hope for a reclassification based on this law suit, but I DO hope that we get some press out of it. A few respected news sources covering this news and pointing out the fact that we are right will go a long way!!! The sheeple need their trough since they apparently can't forage on their own...

very true. People need to hear about this, people need to realize the disconnect from reality that current American federal laws exhibit. Every story in the mainstream media about weed that is not propaganda fabricated to spread fear and confusion is a very positive thing, it stands in the face of all that negative propaganda and lets people know that someone somewhere along the way was lying.

The path of least resistance is to just keep on believing what you were believing and disregard the new info as the bullshit, so if you get a chance to stick up for pot (and it's not your boss you're talking to) do it.

 

[Tony Aroma]

I don't hold much hope for a reclassification based on this law suit, but I DO hope that we get some press out of it. A few respected news sources covering this news and pointing out the fact that we are right will go a long way!!!

I agree. The DEA will respond as they always have, when forced to respond at all, with a simple denial of the request. They may say something about how dangerous cannabis is, how it has not been approved by the FDA, or they'd be sending the wrong message to the children. Doesn't matter. We already know the outcome.

So that leaves the publicity angle. I also agree that is what's really important here. But unless some mainstream media pick up on this, the gesture (that's all it really is) will be pointless. The general public doesn't read ICMag or any other cannabis-related web sites. Since I haven't seen anything about this on Fox or CNN, I'd say it's already all but over.

 

[zen_trikester]

I'm not saying we can get the word out via this or any weed forum. We can talk about it though! Maybe not everyone, but people who are close to us should hear our opinions on this, even if it is tempered for their ears so as to mystify our association with the culture itself. Just plant some seeds and make the conversation about political control and not about weed. This is grassroots... one to one with people you know and normally interact with anyways.

We can be a part of bigger things by donating a few bucks and/or standing up as part of a crowd with like-minded people. I personally have a lot of faith in Norml and other larger pro-pot organizations for this sort of thing. They need to push this to the bigger channels. I'm sure they are fighting that battle every day. After 60 days, and when the DEA does nothing in response, I think we see the shit slinging start from their end.

As for Leonhart having this on her desk... I'm no lawyer, but it is my understanding that this is an effective, legal way to force a response out of the DEA on this issue and legally interpret the findings as a basis for schedule placement of Cannabis. We know the findings will favor rescheduling, otherwise this issue would have been put to bed 7 years ago! If Leonhart is at the forefront of the "Tough shit, we are above the law" response we are likely to get, then maybe the axe will fall her way. I'm good with that!!!

 

[Bobo Bolinsky]

As far as I've seen the Lamestream Media- the stupid twit has a point with that one-has ignored this whole portentous issue. Reclassification would essentially end the drug war as we know it. Killing that Golden Goose is not something the DEA will do without a gun to their fucking heads.

 

[budlover123]

...I won't pretend that freeing weed is more important than treating people humanely and not persecuting people for the color of their skin, but I do believe it will take the same type of disgust for the actions of the "powers that be" to make the change we need. We need to help people see this as a human rights, state rights, and an excess government control issue because that is what it is...

Maybe this 2012 end of the world thing will be a global paradigm shift where people are no longer driven to misery.

persecuting innocent people might pay the bills, whether it's over the color of their skin or over their way of life, it's not making anybody happy. Look at all these ex-cops that feel compelled to speak out against the drug war, they are doing so because that shit eats at them like a cancer

I'm no huge fan of Obama, but we have to have a better chance making progress on this issue with a democrat / Obama whitehouse than I believe we've had with any other administration. just look at the response "I thought that was the point" when asked about inhaling marijuana.

We might actually have a chance of bettering our country and standing up for freedom without weapons or armies, but the question is, how do we get this issue into the mainstream debate, when the mainstream media is owned by Wyeth or Merck or some shit. (if you think that's bullshit, just count the drug commercials as they fly by)

That reminds me, I have a strange urge to "ask your doctor" about something...