Marijuana has "no accepted medical use" and "a high potential for abuse."
Those are not our words, they are quotations from a U.S. government agency involved in research that has resulted in marijuana remaining on a list of Schedule I drugs.
The Obama administration has determined marijuana remains a dangerous drug with no medical application after a lengthy review that involved the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Health and Human Services Department, the agency quoted above.
We commend the federal government for basing its decision on science and medicine, in contrast to states that have bowed to pseudo-science and legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana use.
Chuck Rosenberg, acting DEA administrator, acknowledged the designation is subject to scientific research. "If the scientific understanding about marijuana changes - and it could change - then the decision could change.
"But," he added, "we will remain tethered to science, as we must and as the statute demands. It certainly would be odd to rely on science when it suits us and ignore it otherwise."
Oddly, some states have done exactly that.
Proponents of marijuana use have argued the drug is not dangerous, but Rosenberg said the "danger scale" is not applicable. What is applicable is whether a drug has an "accepted medical use."
Consequently, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, unlike some Schedule II drugs, including opiates, which have a medical use although they are more likely to be abused.
Although we believe the designation is consistent with science, we have no quarrel with government expanding research regarding the possible medicinal benefits of marijuana.
Science is a process of trial and error. If, as Rosenberg says, our experimentation alters our understanding of a medicinal use for marijuana, then its virtues and drawbacks must be weighed.
Until that happens, promoting medical marijuana is a sham designed as a stepping stone toward legalization of recreational marijuana and the consequences of more impaired people on the roads, in workplaces and in society.