>>> On August 11, 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it was refusing to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I (alongside heroin) to Schedule II (still silly but not quite as much). Specifically, the DEA was acting on two separate years-old petitions to initiate rule-making proceedings. Rescheduling would've meant a loosening on research, patient use, and criminal penalties for cannabis.

The DEA didn't make the decision single-handedly. It asked the Food and Drug Administration (with the help of the National Institute on Drug Abuse) to perform a study and make a recommendation about rescheduling. A number of people, including myself, requested the FDA material under FOIA before the DEA announced its decision, but we were rebuffed.

When the DEA made its announcement, it also released the two FDA documents. Under federal law, a senior official at the Department of Health and Human Services (home of the FDA) has to make a formal recommendation to the DEA based on the FDA's studies. Also, the DEA wrote its own study, based heavily on the FDA papers. All of these documents were presented as one document within the DEA's formal announcement. The Memory Hole 2 has pulled apart all five documents and is presenting them as separate PDFs above.

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ABC News: DEA Denies Petitions to Reclassify Marijuana as Less Dangerous Drug

The Cannabist: DEA files docs, says no to rescheduling marijuana

NORML: [In 1988] DEA's Own Administrative Law Judge Ruled Cannabis Should Be Reclassified Under Federal Law

Related on The Memory Hole 2: Federally Funded Studies on the Benefits of Cannabis

Pot leaf photo by Stephanie Jones