Despite its federal illegality and classification as a Schedule I drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has announced that it is ending its review of cannabis cultivation applications. The agency will soon start to register additional growers authorized to cultivate the plant for research purposes.
Previously, the University of Mississippi’s National Center for the Development of Natural Products was the only approved supplier of cannabis for research purposes, and all crops were produced exclusively for the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) continued research on the effects of the drug.
While producers’ applications are still awaiting final approval, the DEA has determined that numerous applicants “[appear] to be consistent with applicable legal standards and relevant laws,” and have therefore been issued a Memorandum of Agreement, which the agency describes as the “next step” in the approval process.
The move signifies an about-face from the DEA, which still categorizes cannabis as a drug “with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” alongside heroin, LSD, and MDMA.
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