drug enforcement administration Archives

After Months of Public and Legal Pressure, DEA Removes Marijuana Misinformation from Website

February 13, 2017 by Anthony Martinelli

**The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has removed marijuana misinformation from their website following months of public and legal pressure.**

After months of public pressure, and a legal request by the nonprofit medical cannabis advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, the DEA has removed factually inaccurate information about marijuana from their website.

As part of the legal request, Americans for Safe Access argued that there was over 25 incorrect statements on the DEA’s website about cannabis, which violates the Information Quality Act, which prohibits government agencies from providing false information to the public, and requires them to respond to requests for correction of information within 60 days.

Kratom Becomes Illegal Friday, Petition to the White House Reaches Signature Goal

September 30, 2016September 26, 2016 by Anthony Martinelli

At the end of August the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that it will be adding kratom as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, placing it alongside substances such as heroin and cannabis. The move will be made official starting Friday, September 30th.

Kratom, for those who don’t know, is a tree indigenous to Southeast Asia that has been consumed for hundreds of years in numerous countries for its supposed medical and theruptic properties. Up to this point it’s been legal throughout the United States in all but a few states. However, its use has gained popularity in recent years, and clearly the DEA sees making it illegal as another reason for their continued existence (as we mention in a recent article, kratom will continued to be sold, just through black-market means rather than through tax-paying businesses).

American Legion Calls on Government to Remove Cannabis as Schedule 1 Drug

September 7, 2016September 6, 2016 by Anthony Martinelli

The American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans organization with over 2.4 million members, has passed a resolution calling on the federal government to remove cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance which indicates it has no medical value. This is the first time the organization, formed in 1919, has passed a resolution calling on a reformation of cannabis laws.

Specifically, the resolution calls for the government to “amend legislation to remove marijuana from schedule I and reclassify it in a category that, at a minimum will recognize cannabis as a drug with potential medical value.” The resolution, which also calls on the DEA to “license privately-funded medical marijuana production operations in the United States to enable safe and efficient cannabis drug development research”, was given approval at the group’s annual meeting in Cincinnati which took place between August 30 and September 1.

The DEA Sucks At Math

August 29, 2016 by Anthony Martinelli

By Tom Angell, Marijuana.com

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a very strict anti-drug policy for its hirees. But the agency apparently has no requirement that its employees grasp basic mathematics skills.

See if you can spot the error in this DEA filing scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday:

Yep: 33 minutes is not the equivalent of .33 hours.

DEA Says it May Reschedule Cannabis in First Half of This Year

April 6, 2016 by Anthony Martinelli

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it will decide whether or not to reclassify cannabis under federal law – removing it as a Schedule 1 controlled substance alongside drugs such as heroin – in “the first half of 2016”. This is according to a letter the agency sent this week to a group of senators.

The DEA’s letter is in response to a 2015 letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and seven other senators urging the government to facilitate research into the medical benefits of cannabis, something that is made nearly impossible for many scientists given cannabis’ status as a Schedule 1 drug. As a Schedule 1 drug, cannabis is labeled as having “no known medical value”, a statement that clearly flies contrary to the research we do have on the plant.

DEA Eases Requirements for Clinical Trials on Cannabidiol

December 23, 2015December 23, 2015 by Anthony Martinelli

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced in a press release sent today that they’ve eased some of the regulatory requirements imposed by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) for those who are conducting FDA-approved clinical trials on cannabidiol (CBD), an extract of the cannabis plant. These modifications will streamline the research process regarding CBD’s possible medicinal value and help foster ongoing scientific studies. The DEA notified affected researchers by letter of the changes, which take effect immediately.

“Federal Regulation (21 CFR 1301.18) requires researchers conducting CBD-based clinical trials under an FDA Investigational New Drug Application to have a DEA research registration”, the DEA states in their press release. “This registration permits the possession of an approved amount of CBD for a specific research protocol. Prior to now, researchers who expanded the scope of their studies and needed more CBD than initially approved for had to request, in writing, a modification to their DEA research registrations – potentially delaying that research while the modification underwent an approval process that includes both the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

Members of Congress Call for Cutting DEA Funding to Increase Funding for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Prevention

November 28, 2015 by Anthony Martinelli

A coalition of 12 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA), has written a letter to House leadership calling for the passage of a provision in an upcoming spending bill that would remove at least half of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) funding for their failed Cannabis Eradication Program.

The provision would take this money (around $9 million) and put it towards programs that “play a far more useful role in promoting the safety and economic prosperity of the American people”, such as domestic violence and child abuse prevention.

Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Send Letter to President Obama Calling for DEA Chief to be Fired

November 19, 2015November 19, 2015 by Anthony Martinelli

Yesterday, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer made comments on the House floor calling for DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg to be fired for calling medical cannabis “a joke”, Now, Blumenauer has sent a letter to President Obama, signed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, asking him to replace Rosenberg.

“On November 4th, Chuck Rosenberg, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in comments widely covered by the press, called the notion of smoking medical marijuana “a joke””, the letter begins. “His statements are indicative of a throwback ideology rooted in the failed War on Drugs. They do not reflect the overwhelming body of testimonial evidence, reforms happening across the country at the state level and in Congress, or the opinion of the American people – and they certainly don’t reflect statements you’ve made or actions you’ve directed your agencies to take. Rather, these statements demonstrate Mr. Rosenberg is not the right person to lead the DEA.”

Congressman Calls for Removal of DEA Chief for Calling Medical Cannabis a Joke

November 18, 2015 by Anthony Martinelli

earlblumenauer — Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

On Sunday we reported on a Change.org petition with over 80,000 signatures asking for the removal of DEA Chief Chuck Rosenber for calling medical cannabis “a joke” (the petition currently has over 91,000 signatures). Now, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) is also calling on Chuck Rosenberg to be replaced.

“Rosenberg is clearly not the right fit for the DEA in this administration,” said Blumenauer during a speech on the House floor. “What is a joke is the job Rosenberg is doing as acting DEA administrator.”

Sign the Petition to Fire DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg for Calling Medical Cannabis a Joke

November 18, 2015November 15, 2015 by Anthony Martinelli

chuck roseberg — DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg says calling cannabis medicine is “a joke”.

Recently Chuck Rosenberg, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told reporters he believes that calling cannabis medicine is “a joke”. This has immediately drawn backlash from supporters of medical cannabis, including a Change.org petition put forth by Marijuana Majority which has over 80,000 signatures at the time of this article’s publication.

“What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not,” Rosenberg said last week. “We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine — that is a joke.”