The DEA's
classification of substances under the Controlled Substances Act
(CSA) is in need of an overhaul as our knowledge of these substances
changes. The war on drugs has done little to help society and has
made it difficult for individuals to seek help for underlying
condtions that are at the root of their drug use. This blog post will
look at several controlled substances and how standardization of
these substances has made it difficult for researchers to study known
and potential applications. Several schedule one substances (meaning
high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use) currently have
known medical uses but there is little attention towards fixing this
classification even for cannabis where the fight is now focused on
legalization. Schedule I classification makes it difficult for
research labs to get samples of substances and makes testing
difficult as there are strict time-consuming protocols defined by the
DEA. Schedule I also greatly increases prison sentences for drug
possession and other drug related crimes.
MDMA (the
psychoactive drug in ecstacy) is classified under schedule 1 yet has
been found to be very effective in treating PTSD. A study performed
in 2010 by MAPS (multidisciplinary association for psychedelic
studies) concluded that our of a sample of 20 individuals in PTSD
treatment, 83% of those who went through MDMA-assisted psychotherapy
were cured compared to just 25% without it. Results from a follow-up
study in 2012 showed that the treatment was still effective, showing
that it could have long term benefits for those who undergo
treatment. The medical community has recommended to the US
government that MDMA should be placed under Schedule III, and despite
two court rulings by the DEA's administrative law judge that Schedule
I placement is illegal, it remains there today. The psychoactive
compound psilocybin found in magic mushrooms has been found to be
effective in treating depression. It has been found to be
particularly effective at helping patients reverse negative cognative
biases, a phenomenon in which an individual has a greater recall of
negative memories than positive ones. Other studies have shown
psilocybin to help with obsessive compulsion disorder and cluster
headaches. GHB and cannabis are both Schedule I substances with
Schedule III applications, a classification which breaks the very
definition of Schedule I. GHB helps with narcolepsy and alcohol
withdrawl and dependence but is schedule I, unless you call it by its
phamacutical name Xyrem, then its Schedule III. Canabis has been
found to help with many ailments including pain, nausea, and sleep
deprivation. It has also been found to help with epilepsy with
public attention being brought through CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta's
special “WEED” where he showed how cannabis was able to help a
little girl. Marinol (an isomer of THC) has been classified as
Schedule III and is used to treat the same conditions as cannabis
leading to many critics asking the question of why THC is Schedule I.
For these
substances and for those I did not mention in this blog, it is clear
that the DEA is behind science in the classification of substances.
When the medical community is demanding reclassification with a
successful lawsuit and yet still nothing happens, it goes to show
that standards in government can be dangerous to progress. The
Standard for drug classification lays out the criteria for drugs to
move between the schedules yet those in charge of seeing it change do
nothing about it due to the “war on drugs”. Those who oversee
the implementation of a standard need to be held accountable for the
maintenance of said standard.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/11/mdma-molly-therapy-ptsd-cure/10683963/
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/7/5967239/marijuana-legalization-drug-schedule-DEA-FDA-HHS
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