NCJ Number
235715
Date Published
April 2001
Length
40 pages
Annotation
By letter dated March 20, 2001, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the U.S. Justice Department denied a petition from Jon Gettman to initiate rulemaking proceedings to reschedule marijuana.
Abstract
The request from Mr. Gettman was to remove marijuana from schedule I based on the assertion that "there is no scientific evidence that it has sufficient abuse potential to warrant schedule I or II status under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)." In accordance with the CSA rescheduling provisions, DEA collected the necessary data and forwarded it and the petition to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation. HHS concluded that marijuana does have a high potential for abuse and therefore recommended that it remain in schedule I. Based on the HHS evaluation and all other relevant data, DEA has concluded that there is no substantial evidence that marijuana should be removed from schedule I. Accordingly, the petition to initiate rulemaking proceedings to reschedule marijuana was denied by the DEA. A detailed explanation of DEA's denial of the petition addresses relevant statutory requirements and procedural history, the HHS scientific and medical evaluation and other relevant data considered by DEA, and a review of the evidence that marijuana has a high potential for abuse. References