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Bring a toy, skate on arena’s ice Thursday

<p>Not so very long ago, the idea of legalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania would have been inconceivable. Today, it&#8217;s not just a reality but a growing industry that is bringing relief to many people suffering from debilitating conditions.</p><p>Gov. Tom Wolf&#8217;s administration last week announced that its Medical Marijuana Advisory Board has unanimously approved a process to amend the list of qualifying conditions recognized by the Medical Marijuana Act.</p><p>Locally, Justice Grown opened Luzerne County&#8217;s first dispensary in Edwardsville&#8217;s Gateway Shopping Center in March. Last week a second dispensary, run by Columbia Care LLC, opened on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>To our south Maryland&#8217;s medical marijuana industry brought in $96.3 million during its first year of operation, new numbers reported by the Baltimore Sun show, well ahead of earlier predictions suggesting a $46 million first-year haul.</p><p>In so many ways, this is an industry whose time has deservedly come.</p><p>Nowhere to go but up, right? Well, not exactly.</p><p>As we have described in several stories on this topic, marijuana&#8217;s continued status as a federal Schedule I drug means users &#8212; including medical cannabis patients &#8212; could still be subject to prosecution if Washington decides to crack down.</p><p>That is something former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to do, but mercifully never got around to doing in any meaningful way.</p><p>Still, federal law means marijuana remains in an uncomfortable legal limbo, which makes every aspect of the emerging medical and recreational industries in several states fraught with peril.</p><p>Banks and investors must proceed with care, likewise growers, sellers and consumers.</p><p>Even medical practitioners in states where it is legal cannot prescribe marijuana, but only recommend it to patients. To formally prescribe would put them at risk of federal sanctions.</p><p>Drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five distinct categories or &#8220;schedules&#8221; depending upon the drug&#8217;s acceptable medical use and the drug&#8217;s abuse or dependency potential, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).</p><p>Schedule I is &#8220;defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,&#8221; the DEA states. As noted, that is the category in which marijuana remains.</p><p>That means marijuana is in the same category as heroin and peyote, while cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone and fentanyl are in Schedule II, for example.</p><p>Because of that status, the amount of U.S. clinical research into marijuana has been sorely limited.</p><p>Nevertheless, what evidence there is has convinced health officials in Pennsylvania, Maryland and other states to move ahead with medical marijuana programs.</p><p>Even the National Institutes of Health notes that &#8220;scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, has led to two FDA-approved medications that contain cannabinoid chemicals in pill form,&#8221; adding that &#8220;continued research may lead to more medications.&#8221;</p><p>Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams was discussing the opioid crisis with law enforcement officials gathered in Boston and acknowledged that federal scheduling laws make it hard for researchers to study marijuana&#8217;s medical potential. That said, Adams was quick to point out that he isn&#8217;t supportive of &#8220;across-the-board&#8221; decriminalization of illegal drugs.</p><p>The irony is that legally prescribed opioids have been responsible for an untold and growing toll on individuals, families and communities.</p><p>It is high time federal officials reexamine the country&#8217;s position on marijuana.</p><p><em> &#8212; Times Leader</em></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Despite growing use for alleviation of chronic conditions, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug in the U.S. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_mj_ne20181010162220745.jpg</photo0><caption0>Despite growing use for alleviation of chronic conditions, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug in the U.S. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

Our View: Time for U.S. to look at medical marijuana’s status