Pot

DEA Delays Decision to Reschedule Marijuana…Again

Right now, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, right alongside heroin, LSD, peyote, and ecstasy. That’s more than a little ridiculous, considering Schedule I drugs are classified as such because they have “no medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
We know that marijuana does, in fact, have numerous medical uses.

August 1 is a Big Day for Medical Marijuana Patients in Minnesota

For more than a year, Minnesota residents with a few serious medical conditions have been able to legally purchase medical marijuana. But now, as of August 1, nearly 500 registered patients with intractable pain will finally have access to it, too.
On July 29, state health officials said that 481 patients with severe pain had pre-registered through their doctors to obtain medical marijuana. Under state law, intractable pain is defined as pain that can’t be treated with traditional drugs or therapies. [1]

DOJ Drops Prosecution of Biggest Medical Marijuana Dispensary in US

On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a 4-year-long effort to shut down Harborside Health Center in Oakland, California, the largest marijuana dispensary in the US.
Employee Derek Flores, right, waits for a patient at a display case at the Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif. The center will be one of the models for Maine’s first medical marijuana dispensaries. Credit: John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Pennsylvania Becomes 24th State to Legalize Medical Marijuana

After the state House voted in favor of the medical marijuana bill, marijuana activists were biting their nails for fear the Senate would find a way to slow or stall the bill, but the bill passed last week.
Supporters knew they’d been successful, as Governor Tom Wolf had vowed to sign it into law. And the governor did not disappoint. Wolf signed the bill on Sunday, making Pennsylvania the 24th state in the nation to embrace marijuana as a legitimate form of medical treatment.
Wolf said:

Will the DEA Choose to Reschedule Marijuana this Summer?

The list of states that have decriminalized marijuana for medical use is growing, but there are still many rules and stipulations which make it incredibly expensive and difficult for patients to actually get their hands on cannabis. Marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug has been a major hurdle for drug researchers seeking to understand the full benefits of the herb, but that might change in a few short months.