What others say: Rescheduling marijuana could boost research

  • Monday, April 25, 2016 5:57pm
  • Opinion

The federal government says it’s
reviewing marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 drug, a move that — regardless of what you think about the drug — is long overdue. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency made the announcement in a memo to lawmakers and said it hopes to have a decision ready sometime in the first half of this year.

Marijuana has long been classified as a Schedule 1 drug, but the classification is as ludicrous today as it was back in the day. The Schedule 1 category is for substances which are not considered to have “any currently accepted medical use in the U.S., a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision and a high potential for abuse.” By point of comparison, heroin also is a Schedule 1 drug.

There’s no reason for marijuana to be listed as a Schedule 1 drug — and, besides, that bit of business about not having any accepted medical use will come as a surprise to the millions of medical marijuana users in the United States.

There’s another reason why the Schedule 1 listing is vexing: It has needlessly complicated important scientific research, not just into marijuana, but also into industrial hemp, potentially a very useful crop. (Industrial hemp, which can be used for a variety of purposes, has very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol — the substance that gets pot users high.) It was almost amusing to watch Oregon State University officials tip-toe around this issue last year before taking tentative steps to allow researchers there to work with industrial hemp. (To be fair, an institution such as OSU will be careful about working with a Schedule 1 drug, especially since it’s potentially putting millions of federal research dollars at risk.)

But there’s a lot of research yet to be done into the medicinal qualities of marijuana as well, and pulling pot off the Schedule 1 list would be a substantial step forward for that work.

A recent interview in The Oregonian with Dr. Colin Roberts, a pediatric neurologist and director of the Doernbecher Childhood Epilepsy Program at the Oregon Health and Science University, illuminated some of the issues researchers face. Roberts is working with a pharmaceutical company on a drug made with pure cannabidiol that has shown promise in treating patients with a form of epilepsy.

One big problem with the Schedule 1 designation is that it requires researchers to undergo a cumbersome approval process before working with a drug on the list. In the case of marijuana, researchers must use pot grown at a government-run facility at the University of Mississippi.

Researchers can’t just go out and buy pot at a dispensary, because there’s no way to verify precisely what they’re buying — and remember that different strains of marijuana have very different properties. Taking pot off the Schedule 1 list would allow researchers to obtain the sort of independent verification that’s essential for meaningful research.

“What we really need in the medical community is really good data,” Roberts told The Oregonian, “because if we don’t have that we will never understand the impact of these products good and bad.”

Pulling marijuana from the Schedule 1 list would be a first step toward getting that kind of good data. What’s the holdup?

—Corvallis Gazette-Times, April 21

More in Opinion

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Education and Early Development, discusses the status of school districts’ finances during a press conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The fight to improve public education has just begun

We owe our children more than what the system is currently offering

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo)
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Flattery played a role in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading