Iowa

Updated: May 2010

“Call to Reclassify Marijuana Misguided”

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted to recommend that state lawmakers reclassify marijuana from a schedule I to a schedule II controlled substance and set up a task force to study a state medi-pot program.

A schedule I controlled substance is one that has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. A schedule II controlled substance is one that has a high potential for abuse, has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions, and abuse of the drug may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Scientific research on marijuana’s effectiveness and risks as a medicine, dosages, interactions with other drugs, and impact on pre-existing conditions is currently insufficient. Adequate studies on marijuana do not exist that show the quantity of dose, frequency and duration of administration, route or method of administration of marijuana for any medical condition. Without solid research, the use of marijuana as a so-called medicine does not meet the requirements of a schedule II drug and its evidence as such remains anecdotal.

“Marijuana is unique among drugs in that it is impossible to overdose on it, but that fact doesn’t mean it is harmless or resistant to abuse,” warns Calvina Fay, executive director of Save Our Society From Drugs. “Both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) support marijuana’s placement in the Controlled Substances Act as a schedule I drug.”

Past evaluations by several agencies, including the FDA, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), found no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.

“The issue of controlling or reclassifying drugs comes under the authority of the DEA Administrator, and rescheduling marijuana at the state level would be in conflict with the federal government where marijuana would remain a schedule I drug,” states Fay. “If state legislators want to tread the dangerous and irresponsible path of rescheduling marijuana, they should follow the same guidelines that have protected the public for decades in this country.”

Those guidelines include research that would address numerous issues including the drug's actual or relative potential for abuse, scientific evidence of the drug's pharmacological effects, what, if any, risk there is to the public health, quantity of dose, frequency and duration of administration, route or method of administration, and whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled.

Steps you can take to promote sound drug policies include:

· Visiting your Representative at either their state or local office

· Phoning your legislator

· Speaking to organizations in your community about this legislation

· Submitting a Letter to the Editor or an Opinion Editorial to your local media outlet

· Becoming a member of S.O.S.

Please click here for information on Iowa’s drug policy history.