The DEA, Schedule 1, and Marijuana

In a recent decision, the Drug Enforcement Administration ruled that marijuana will remain a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Substances in Schedule 1 are determined by the Food and Drug Administration to be drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.   On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host J. Craig Williams joins Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML and Ben Cort, business development manager for the Center for Addiction Recovery and Rehabilitation (CeDAR), to discuss the recent decision by the DEA to keep marijuana on the Schedule 1 list. They will talk impact, the legalization of marijuana, manufacturing marijuana for scientific purposes, and what the future holds on this controversial topic. Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and a senior policy advisor at Freedom Leaf, Inc: The Marijuana Legalization Company. He is the co-author of the book “Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?” Paul was also the principal investigator for defense counsel in U.S. v Schweder, the first federal evidentiary since 1973 hearing to challenge the constitutionality of cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance. Ben Cort is business development manager for the Center for Addiction Recovery and Rehabilitation (CeDAR), part of the University of Colorado Health system. Ben’s passion for recovery, prevention and harm reduction comes from his own struggle with substance abuse. Sober since 1996, Cort is also a junior fellow at the University of Florida’s Drug Policy Institute and serves on the boards of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and the Stout Street Foundation. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.