Medical benefits of marijuana still hazy
2013-01-23 21:44
Washington - Supporters of medical marijuana may have
some evidence to back up their claims of its health benefits, but not enough to
overrule the US government's judgment that the drug should be tightly
controlled, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling means the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
can keep marijuana on its list of the most dangerous, tightly controlled drugs,
alongside heroin.
Medical marijuana supporters sued over the DEA's
classification in 2011, and they hoped the suit would build on victories at the
ballot box in states such as Colorado and Washington.
But the challengers, including a disabled veteran from
Virginia, failed to show convincingly that marijuana has an effective, accepted
and safe medical use, said the US Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, DC
Without further scientific evidence, the court must defer
to the DEA, wrote Judge Harry Edwards for a 2-1 majority.
The third judge also sided with the DEA but for a
different reason, finding that none of the challengers had a right to sue.
Since 1970, the US government has classified marijuana as
a Schedule I drug, a category it reserves for drugs with no accepted medical
use and a high potential for abuse.
