US Court Rules Against Reclassification of MarijuanaThe U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the DEA who claimed medical marijuana studies have not been scientifically rigorous, Americans For Safe Access vowed to appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling today in the medical marijuana reclassification case, Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration. In a 2-1 decision, the Court granted standing in the case the right to bring a claim against the federal government but denied the legal challenge on the merits, agreeing with the governments assertion that adequate and well-controlled studies on the medical efficacy of marijuana do not exist. To deny that sufficient evidence is lacking on the medical efficacy of marijuana is to ignore a mountain of well-documented studies that conclude otherwise, said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the countrys leading medical marijuana advocacy organization, which appealed the denial of the rescheduling petition in January of last year. The Court has unfortunately agreed with the Obama Administrations unreasonably raised bar on what qualifies as an adequate and well-controlled study, thereby continuing their game of Gotcha.' ASA intends to seek En Banc review by the full D.C. Circuit and,necessary, the organization will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. ASA intends to argue that the Obama Administration has acted arbitrarily and capriciously by using continually changing standards of medical efficacy in order to maintain marijuana as a Schedule I substance, a dangerous drug with no medical value. The government now contends that Stage II and III clinical trials are necessary to show efficacy, while ASA has consistently argued that the more than 200 peer-reviewed studies cited in the legal briefs adequately meet this standard. The Obama Administrations legal efforts will keep marijuana out of reach for millions of qualified patients who would benefit from its use, continued Elford. Its time for President Obama to change his harmful policy with regard to medical marijuana and treat this as a public health issue, something entirely within the capability and authority of the executive office. Patient advocates claim that marijuana is treated unlike any other controlled substance and that politics have dominated over medical science on this issue. Advocates point to a research approval process for marijuana, controlled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is unique, overly rigorous, and hinders meaningful therapeutic research. ASA argues in its appeal brief that the DEA has no license to apply different criteria to marijuana than to other drugs, ignore critical scientific data, misrepresent social science research, or rely upon unsubstantiated assumptions, as the DEA has done in this case. ASA will continue to put pressure on the Obama Administration, but will also be lobbying Members of Congress to reclassify marijuana for medical use. A new comprehensive public health bill on medical marijuana is expected to be introduced soon in Congress, and ASA is holding a national conference in February to support its passage. (Source) Read the full ruling below: Please visit and support Americans for Safe Access for common sense marijuana laws. Read other articles by selfnews Post Here 