Inspite of the fact that half of the states in the country have legalized the use of pot in one form or another, a lenghty review of the impact of the use of the drug by the federal authorities has ruled that marijuana is one of the most dangerous drugs with no medical use.
The decision marks the end of a lengthy government review, which found the drug ‘has a high potential for abuse’ and ‘no accepted medical use’.
The weed will remain a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin, despite growing support for legalization, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Thursday.
However, the agency will allow more research into its possible medical benefits.
The news has sparked outrage in the burgeoning cannabis community that now covers more than half the United States.

Attitudes towards cannabis have transformed in the last few years, with the drug’s medicinal value driving legalization efforts. Marijuana legalization has become a hot button political issue. Libertarian presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, is an avowed pot user and advocate, pot legalization was one of the mainstays of Bernie Sanders’ wildly successful insurgent campaign in the democratic primaries. President Obama himself has called for the reduction of the jail terms meted to non-violent offenders arrested in possession of negligible quantities of pot.
Atill, the US government has poured millions into researching the drug, and a number of papers have concluded that CBD, an active ingredient in marijuana, can aid treatment of ailments from anxiety to cancer.
But that momentum has been stunted by the DEA’s conclusion, which cites scientific evidence they state shows no real medical value for marijuana use:
‘We are tethered to science and bound by statute,’ DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said Thursday.
The decision to keep marijuana in the same class of drugs as heroin and peyote comes amid growing national support for the legalization of marijuana.
More than half the states have legalized the drug for either medicinal or recreational use.
The DEA said it plans to make it easier for researchers to study marijuana’s possible medical benefits by expanding the number of entities that can legally grow marijuana for research purposes.

Mahmoud ElSohly heads the legal marijuana garden at the University of Mississippi

Currently only researchers at the University of Mississippi are allowed to grow marijuana, as part of a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
For almost five decades, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has contracted with the university lab to grow, harvest and process marijuana  for research purposes.. Allowing for further research is the latest step forward in the federal government’s evolving position on marijuana, although legalization advocates claim it doesn’t go far enough.
The DEA’s latest review of marijuana’s classification was prompted by requests from the former governors of Rhode Island and Washington.
They requested that marijuana be considered a Schedule II drug, along with cocaine, morphine and opium