42 Washington Lawmakers Join Governor In Asking DEA To Reclassify Marijuana Bipartisan group includes Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate

OLYMPIA, WA — Last November, Washington governor Christine Gregoire, along with her counterparts from Rhode Island and Vermont, asked President Obama, the Federal government, and the DEA to reclassify marijuana so that it can be prescribed by doctors and handled by pharmacists.

On Monday, she was joined by more than three dozen lawmakers from her state. At least 42 Washington state legislators — including seven Republicans — sent a letter to the federal government on Monday, asking for marijuana to be reclassified as a drug that can be prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacists.

In the letter to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the lawmakers said they supported Gov. Chris Gregoire’s previous request to reschedule cannabis. The goal is to downgrade Schedule I marijuana to Schedule II, a group that includes cocaine and methamphetamine but does acknowledge drugs’ medical uses.

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Rescheduling marijuana to a lower schedule under federal law would not authorize medical marijuana dispensaries, but it would begin the process of making marijuana available from licensed pharmacists. Marijuana is currently classified a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it’s not accepted for medical treatment and can’t be prescribed, administered or dispensed.

The federal government has repeatedly refused to reschedule marijuana over the past 20 years. Most recently, in July, the DEA denied a rescheduling petition brought by the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis. That denial is being appealed.

In denying the petition, the DEA steadfastly maintained that: “Marijuana continues to meet the criteria for Schedule I control under the CSA because marijuana has a high potential for abuse, marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and marijuana lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”

Last year, Gregoire vetoed most of a bill that made major reforms to the state’s medical marijuana law, saying state workers could be prosecuted under federal law the way the measure was written.

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