420 with CNW – FDA Calls for Public Comments on Marijuana

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that members of the public and the scientific community have an opportunity to share their thoughts on several substances, including marijuana. Of specific interest is the medical usefulness, abuse potential and actual abuse of the listed substances (including cannabis).

The FDA action comes at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to meet in November this year to review the scheduling of cannabis. The ECDD (Expert Committee on Drug Dependence) is the body that will decide whether marijuana should stay as a schedule 1 substance or that categorization should be changed.

Schedule 1 substances are substances which are regarded as having no medical value yet they possess a high risk of being abused. The UN and the U.S. currently categorize marijuana as a schedule 1 substance.

The outcome of the ECDD meeting will influence how many of the UN member states regard cannabis going forward. However, the decision arrived at may or may not be disregarded by member states.

For example, Canada went ahead and legalized adult use of marijuana despite its categorization as a schedule 1 substance. Similarly, many countries around the world have legalized medical cannabis even if the UN looks at the substance as having no medical value.

The current count of U.S. states where medical cannabis is legal now stands at 31, and more are expected to vote for decriminalization during the coming mid-term elections.

Marijuana advocates should not start celebrating that the Trump administration is finally willing to listen and act on the views of the stakeholders of the marijuana industry.

The administration is bound by law to collect people’s views, but there is no compulsion for them to pay any attention to the voices which speak up during the hearings.

That notwithstanding, numerous groups, such as the Marijuana Policy Project, have collected and submitted lots of scientific and anecdotal data on the medicinal value of cannabis to the WHO committee. That same information will be forwarded to the FDA which has put an October 31 deadline on the submission of comments.

Of key interest is the matter of teen use of marijuana. The current data suggests that no increase in the number of teenagers using pot has been seen in the states where marijuana use is legal either for recreational or medical reasons. This should allay any fears that public health will be threatened by an explosion of teen stoners.

While marijuana advocates hope for the best from these hearings, they are also aware that a committee was secretly set up by the Trump administration to gather negative data about cannabis. Companies like Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE) and Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP) keep wishing that regulators and legislators everywhere listen honestly and make decisions based on concrete data instead of relying on preconceived notions when making policy decisions.

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