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DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Board of Pharmacy took action Tuesday to recommend that state lawmakers approve marijuana as a drug with medicinal purposes.
The Board of Pharmacy agreed to recommend to lawmakers that they re-classify marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule II drug. The new classification would mean that marijuana still has a high potential for abuse, but would be considered accepted for medical use in treatment.
Currently, the Schedule I drug classification means marijuana has no proven or acceptable medical use. The ruling would classify marijuana with other narcotic drugs such as opiates and methadone.
But that was the extent of the board's action, to recommend the change. Members denied a petition requesting the board to make rules on the use of marijuana.
Board chairman Vernon Benjamin said that goes beyond the scope of the board's rule-making authority. Benjamin said the board can regulate drugs and professional pharmacists, but then put the responsibility back on the Iowa Legislature.
"We can't set any penalties. We can't set any guidelines on how marijuana's going to be produced, what standards are going to be. And I think all those kind of things are things the Legislature's going to have the ultimate say-so about anyway," said Benjamin.
Benjamin said the likelihood that the Legislature would take up the issue in the upcoming session, from what he's heard, are slim, but he added that anything can happen during the legislative session.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:kcci.com
Contact: KCCI.com - KCCI-TV
Copyright: 2010, Des Moines Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of KCCI-TV.
Website:Board: Lawmakers Should OK Medical Marijuana - News Story - KCCI Des Moines
The Board of Pharmacy agreed to recommend to lawmakers that they re-classify marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule II drug. The new classification would mean that marijuana still has a high potential for abuse, but would be considered accepted for medical use in treatment.
Currently, the Schedule I drug classification means marijuana has no proven or acceptable medical use. The ruling would classify marijuana with other narcotic drugs such as opiates and methadone.
But that was the extent of the board's action, to recommend the change. Members denied a petition requesting the board to make rules on the use of marijuana.
Board chairman Vernon Benjamin said that goes beyond the scope of the board's rule-making authority. Benjamin said the board can regulate drugs and professional pharmacists, but then put the responsibility back on the Iowa Legislature.
"We can't set any penalties. We can't set any guidelines on how marijuana's going to be produced, what standards are going to be. And I think all those kind of things are things the Legislature's going to have the ultimate say-so about anyway," said Benjamin.
Benjamin said the likelihood that the Legislature would take up the issue in the upcoming session, from what he's heard, are slim, but he added that anything can happen during the legislative session.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed:420 MAGAZINE
Source:kcci.com
Contact: KCCI.com - KCCI-TV
Copyright: 2010, Des Moines Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of KCCI-TV.
Website:Board: Lawmakers Should OK Medical Marijuana - News Story - KCCI Des Moines
