DEA declines to loosen restrictions on medical marijuana

CNN: Marijuana will remain a Schedule l controlled substance, which declares it has "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," the Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday. This keeps the drug in the same category as heroin, LSD and Ecstasy.

The announcement is in response to two recent petitions asking the agency to reconsider this designation for the benefit of scientific research. The decision is based on a "scientific and medical evaluation" conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration at the request of the DEA.

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