DEA Announces Huge Increase in Cannabis and Psilocybin Research

For years, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has severely limited the cannabis industry. However, with federal legalization hopefully on the horizon, the administration has recently begun to call for significant increases in the production of Schedule I substances like marijuana, cannabis extracts, psilocybin, and psilocin to develop federally approved drugs. This new direction is a major shift for the DEA and has massive consequences for the future of cannabis in America.

The History of the DEA and Drug Scheduling

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The DEA has been the primary federal drug enforcement agency since 1973. It was created by the Nixon administration at the onset of America's War on Drugs, just a few years after the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 was established. The Controlled Substances Act mandated that substances previously regulated in some capacity by the government be placed into five categories known as Schedules. A substance's Schedule classification is determined by its medicinal use and potential for abuse or dependence liability. Here are the five Schedules:

• Schedule I: substances seen to have no accepted medical use and a high chance of abuse and addiction.
• Schedule II: substances seen to have night potential for abuse that may also cause physical and psychological dependence. 
• Schedule III:  substances seen to have a lower risk of physical or psychological dependence and may have some medical uses.
• Schedule IV: substances with low risk of abuse or dependence with medical uses.
• Schedule V: substances with the lowest risk levels for abuse and dependence. They have medical uses but may consist of elements of narcotics.

For largely political and racially charged motivations, cannabis was classified as a Schedule I drug and remains so to this day. As such, marijuana is officially considered by the United States federal government to be highly addictive with no medical purposes. Not only does this go against public opinion (90% of Americans believe cannabis should at least be medicinally legal on the federal level), but it goes against what a lot of the initial science is telling us. Cannabis is far less addictive than Schedule II opioids like Fentanyl and Codeine, and it's showing to have a lot of medicinal benefits, from reducing seizures to alleviating chronic pain and inflammation. 

Why Research is Important

Public opinion matters, which has been largely responsible for the massive state-level cannabis legalization policies over the last two decades (there are now 36 states with legal medical cannabis and 18 with legalized recreational cannabis). More important than public opinion, however, is scientific fact. The cannabis industry, and the community that fuels it, believe cannabis to be medicinally beneficial and far less dangerous than the federal government has labeled it. However, because of its illegal status for the last 50 years, it has been incredibly difficult for scientists to conduct marijuana research imperative to better understanding the truth of cannabis. Without cannabis research, there's no way of knowing just what positive (or negative) effects cannabis offers. This goes for every drug that has been scheduled by the federal government. Some of these drugs, including cannabis and psilocybin, may likely have significant medicinal benefits to many people, both physically and mentally. Fortunately, the DEA is beginning to catch up to popular opinion on the matter.

Why the DEA is Increasing Testing

Very small amounts of cannabis have been allotted to scientific study since the 1960s and incremental increases have been ordered by the DEA over time, but this new proposal is different. The DEA is asking to produce 500,000 more grams of cannabis and 250,000 more grams of cannabis extract than the initial 2021 quota. It is also asking for a 2,900% increase in psilocybin production from the original 2021 quota. The research is meant specifically to develop FDA-approved medicines, suggesting that the DEA's stance on the medicinal potential of cannabis and psilocybin is now much more progressive. There is an entire field of study that has long been underground and officially overlooked because of the Schedule I classification and cultural aversion toward marijuana. This new request to increase testing legitimizes these fields of study, and it legitimizes the very medicinal potential of cannabis and psychedelics. This all makes us wonder, "is the DEA meaning to eventually change the classification of cannabis and allow federal weed legalization?"

What This Means for the Future of the Cannabis Industry

If these tests provide the affirmative results the cannabis community expects, it will be massive for the cannabis industry. There have been recent lawsuits to change the Schedule I classification of cannabis, and these lawsuits largely use medicinal benefits for their argument. Unfortunately, none of these cases have yet to make an impact (although there is a current case that looks promising). If the DEA is ordering more research on cannabis and psilocybin, there's a chance that they beginning to consider the possibility that cannabis should not be classified as without medicinal benefit. This new research could result in studies that prove what the public has been inferring for a long time, which would ultimately result in the reclassification of cannabis and psilocybin. If that happens, federal psilocybin and weed legalization in some capacity may just be around the corner, and that would be the biggest change to the cannabis industry since states first began to legalize. It would, effectively, legitimize the cannabis industry on a national, legal level. And, if these studies result in FDA-approved medicines and the Schedule, unfortunately, does not change, that will provide enough ammunition for lawsuits to change the Schedules. Either way, make sure to tune in here at Where's Weed for more information as the studies proceed.  

Let us know what you think about the DEA's new change of direction. Do you think it will result in real change? Do you think it's good for the cannabis industry? Let us know in the comments below!