Federal Government Violated the Law in Marijuana Scheduling Evaluation, Group Says
Marijuana Moment cites Senior Fellow Michelle Minton’s request for correction on the Department of Health and Human Services’ medical marijuana evaluation.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submitted the request for correction to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which sent the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) a letter about the medical value of cannabis in 2015 that served as the basis for its ongoing status as a Schedule I drug.
But that letter lacked an important element required under the federal Information Quality Act. As a “highly influential scientific assessment” that played a central role in the DEA’s decision to maintain marijuana’s strict prohibition, HHS was required to conduct a scientific peer review of evidence on cannabis and its therapeutic potential.
No such peer review occurred, and CEI argued that HHS should therefore “formally withdraw its evaluation” and “inform the public that the information disseminated should not be relied upon for regulatory or other purposes until a proper peer review has been completed.”