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http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...d-about-power-to-reschedule-pot-advocates-say
President Barack Obama said Thursday it's not his administration's job to reschedule marijuana, but supporters of rescinding the drug's federal classification as one of the most dangerous narcotics say the president is confused and should act immediately.
"What is and isn't a Schedule I narcotic is a job for Congress," Obama told Jake Tapper of CNN. "It's not something by ourselves that we start changing. No, there are laws under – undergirding those determinations."
Marijuana advocates point to the U.S. Code and say that's not entirely accurate.
The 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which created five tiers of restricted drugs, says the attorney general may "remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule."
If a substance is banned by international treaties – as marijuana is – the law grants the attorney general the power to place it "under the schedule he deems most appropriate."
[READ: Kofi Annan Urges 'Rising Up' Against Drug Prohibition]
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., tells U.S. News it's "very clear" that the law "actually permits reclassification administratively."
"I don't dispute that Congress could and should make the change, but it's also something the administration could do in a matter of days and I hope they will consider it," says Blumenauer, who is currently circulating a letter among colleagues asking Obama to do so. Eight members of Congress have signed the letter so far.
Schedule I drugs are deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value.
Blumenauer says it's clear marijuana doesn't belong in the highest schedule alongside heroin and LSD. He says it does have accepted medical value in 20 states and Washington, D.C., where its use for certain conditions is permitted, and that it's relatively safe compared to other drugs – notably cocaine and methamphetamine, which are ranked Schedule II.
Among the benefits of rescheduling pot, Blumenauer says, is easing banking restrictions for state-permitted recreational and medical marijuana shops, which mainly deal in cash because banks fearing federal penalties refuse their business.
The story continues: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...d-about-power-to-reschedule-pot-advocates-say
President Barack Obama said Thursday it's not his administration's job to reschedule marijuana, but supporters of rescinding the drug's federal classification as one of the most dangerous narcotics say the president is confused and should act immediately.
"What is and isn't a Schedule I narcotic is a job for Congress," Obama told Jake Tapper of CNN. "It's not something by ourselves that we start changing. No, there are laws under – undergirding those determinations."
Marijuana advocates point to the U.S. Code and say that's not entirely accurate.
The 1970 Controlled Substances Act, which created five tiers of restricted drugs, says the attorney general may "remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule."
If a substance is banned by international treaties – as marijuana is – the law grants the attorney general the power to place it "under the schedule he deems most appropriate."
[READ: Kofi Annan Urges 'Rising Up' Against Drug Prohibition]
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., tells U.S. News it's "very clear" that the law "actually permits reclassification administratively."
"I don't dispute that Congress could and should make the change, but it's also something the administration could do in a matter of days and I hope they will consider it," says Blumenauer, who is currently circulating a letter among colleagues asking Obama to do so. Eight members of Congress have signed the letter so far.
Schedule I drugs are deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value.
Blumenauer says it's clear marijuana doesn't belong in the highest schedule alongside heroin and LSD. He says it does have accepted medical value in 20 states and Washington, D.C., where its use for certain conditions is permitted, and that it's relatively safe compared to other drugs – notably cocaine and methamphetamine, which are ranked Schedule II.
Among the benefits of rescheduling pot, Blumenauer says, is easing banking restrictions for state-permitted recreational and medical marijuana shops, which mainly deal in cash because banks fearing federal penalties refuse their business.
The story continues: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...d-about-power-to-reschedule-pot-advocates-say
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