The Food and Drug Administration formally approved Epidiolex, a medication derived from cannabis, this week. There's a problem, though: The Drug Enforcement Administration regards cannabis and all its products as a Schedule I drug, classifying it with heroin, LSD, and other drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
Until the DEA reevaluates its stance on cannabidiol (CBD), the compound playing a starring role in Epidiolex, the drug manufacturer can't even sell it in the US. This is after extensive testing and development to demonstrate that it is safe and effective for the treatment of severe seizures in pediatric patients.
The agency has 90 days to review information provided by the FDA and the drug manufacturer and make a rescheduling decision. Conservatively, the agency might decide to make an exception for the specific formulation used in Epidiolex. It could also choose to reclassify CBD as a whole, recognizing what we already know: It has demonstrated medical applications and a very low potential for abuse and dependence.
Or the DEA could remove cannabis from Schedule I altogether. This is an opportunity for the DEA to take a broad stance and change cannabis' scheduling status.
Rescheduling cannabis would open up many more opportunities for drug trials and research to learn more about the myriad of compounds beyond CBD and the psychoactive THC found in marijuana. It would make it much easier for drug companies to develop safe, effective products that can be appropriately regulated to ensure patients receive accurate, controlled doses.
The DEA's drug schedule is all out of whack. Cannabis doesn't belong in the same class as heroin, while drugs like Xanax, Valium, and Darvocet are all the way down in Schedule IV, treated as medications "with a low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence."
The DEA's treatment of cannabis is a holdover from prohibition culture that doesn't reflect the latest medical research or scientific understanding of cannabis and its derivatives. It's time for the agency to get in step with the growing body of evidence: Marijuana does have medical applications, and even the World Health Organization believes it has a low risk of abuse.
The DEA needs to take this opportunity for review as a cue: Reschedule cannabis to a classification that more accurately describes its medical applications and evidence-based risk of abuse. Stop the reefer madness!
Photo credit: Brian Shamblen/Creative Commons
