Landmark Case to be Heard Tomorrow in Washington, DC
After a long battle with the federal government, advocates for medical marijuana will have their day in court. On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC will hear arguments in the case of American’s for Safe Access vs. Drug Enforcement Administration. The arguments presented will focus on the DEA. Advocates claim that the DEA under the Obama Administration has continuously ignored medical and scientific evidence that proves that marijuana has medical use.
Tuesday’s arguments are the result of 10 years of hard work by The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis. In 2002, the Coalition submitted a petition to have cannabis rescheduled. Under its current scheduling, marijuana has no medical use and is considered highly dangerous. The Coalition’s petition was ignored for 9 years. Last year, the Coalition filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration for delaying the petition for an unreasonable amount of time.
A recent paper by Dr. Igor Grant published in the Open Neurological Journal stated that there is no clear evidence to support marijuana’s current scheduling. The report went on to say that the current scheduling is inhibiting real research being conducted on the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
A letter from over 60 medical professionals has been sent to the Obama Administration in advance of Tuesday’s hearing. The letter includes opinions of those who favor rescheduling; including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Nurses Association.
Joe Elford, Chief Counsel for Americans for Safe Access, made the following statement, “Medical marijuana patients are finally getting their day in court. This is a rare opportunity for patients to confront politically motivated decision-making with scientific evidence of marijuana’s medical efficacy. What’s at stake in this case is nothing less than our country’s scientific integrity and the imminent needs of millions of patients.”
The judges in the case are Circuit Judge Henderson, Circuit Judge Garland and Senior Circuit Judge Edwards.