DEA declares marijuana has no medical use

Story from The Takeaway. Use audio player above to listen to full report.

The Drug Enforcement Agency has ruled that marijuana has no acceptable medical use. The decision comes almost nine years after supporters of medical marijuana first asked the government to reclassify cannabis. It is the third time that a petition to reclassify marijuana has failed.

While medical marijuana is considered illegal on the federal level, it is legal in 16 states and users are protected under their states’ laws.

Justin Elliott is covering the story for Salon. He says there probably won’t be a crackdown on individual users, but dispensaries could be targeted: “I don’t think there is any evidence that these prosecutors will be going after users, but it could mean that if you go to one of these large scale dispensaries … it very well could be raided by federal agents and shut down.”

Get details about the DEA ruling on the Atlantic Wire website.

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