DEA Rejects Requests to Reclassify Marijuana But Will Increase Supply for Research

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday announced that it will not reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses. The DEA will increase the number of authorized marijuana manufacturers supplying researchers.

Marijuana is a Schedule I drug with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

Currently the DEA only permits marijuana used in federally approved research to be grown at a facility at the University of Mississippi, Reuters reports. The facility is overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The new policy will allow additional entities to apply to become registered with the DEA so that they may grow and distribute marijuana for research authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.