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<\/p>\nNov 27, 2017<\/p>\n
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Taking the cowardly route, the DEA announced Wednesday, just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, it will be rescheduling synthetic THC, the primary psychoactive component and presumed impetus for federal prohibition of cannabis, to a Schedule II substance \u2014 while nature\u2019s original weed remains as illegal as meth, heroin, and ecstasy.<\/p>\n
Fake weed is\u00a0safer<\/a>\u00a0than real weed \u2014 in the minds of the drug warriors of the (Arbitrary) Drug Enforcement Agency.<\/p>\n Reiterating for emphasis, actual cannabis containing natural THC will remain irrationally\u00a0listed<\/a>\u00a0as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) \u2014 while the manufactured imitation, delta-9-THC, from Insys Therapeutics and found in Dronabinol (Syndros), will now be\u00a0lowered<\/a>\u00a0to Schedule II.<\/p>\n A clearer giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of millions of current and future American cannabis patients simply doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Herb<\/i>\u00a0notes<\/a>, the rescheduling of the synthetic, imitation THC officially\u00a0\u201crecognizes its medicinal potential and allows for it to become a federally regulated prescription drug.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n On the laughably transparent contrary, organic THC, anything derived from or the cannabis plant, itself \u2014 will still be considered devoid of medicinal value or potential, and is still deemed as dangerous as highly addictive substances notorious for ruining lives.<\/p>\n In fact, to dispense with any possible confusion, the Drug Enforcement Agency immediately clarified the pharmaceutical industry\u2019s version would be the only rescheduling pertaining to cannabis \u2014 weed, itself, will remain stringently verboten in the eyes of the law \u2014 stating,<\/p>\n \u201c[I]t should be noted as a preliminary matter that any form of dronabinol other than in an FDA-approved drug product remains a schedule I controlled substance, and those who handle such material remain subject to the regulatory controls, and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions, applicable to schedule I controlled substances set forth in the CSA and DEA regulations.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n This oh-so conveniently allows Insys to set the price for its manufactured THC \u2014 and this legal synthetic already\u00a0runs<\/a>\u00a0patients upwards of\u00a0$2,000 each month.<\/b><\/p>\n Not to worry, the antiquated agency acknowledged its hypocrisy, stating, as\u00a0cited by<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Cannabist<\/i>,<\/p>\n \u201cThe DEA notes that FDA-approved products of oral solutions containing dronabinol have an approved medical use, whereas marijuana does not have an approved medical use and therefore remains in Schedule I.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n All of this, of course, counters mountains of research, anecdotal accounts, and scientific study documenting the clear\u00a0medical benefits<\/a>\u00a0offered by cannabis, the plant. From treatment for veterans and others with\u00a0PTSD<\/a>\u00a0to combating the nausea associated with chemotherapy, to\u00a0cancer<\/a>,\u00a0autism<\/a>, and\u00a0relief<\/a>\u00a0from addiction to opioids \u2014 cannabis has saved and vastly improved lives \u2014 and that a human-concocted version of what many consider a naturally-occurring\u00a0miracle<\/a>\u00a0won\u2019t necessarily bring about the same prison term as the original is an affront to medicine, science, and\u00a0reason<\/a>.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not all.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Herb<\/i>\u00a0points out<\/a>, Insys Therapeutics isn\u2019t unique in an industry notorious for greed, corruption, high prices, and p \u2014 the company\u2019s reputation came into question first in conjunction with the national opioid crisis \u2014 another symptom of Big Pharma\u2019s penchant for profiteering before patient care.<\/p>\n \u201cAs recently as October, Insys founder Dr. John N. Kapoor stepped down after charges were filed against him alleging that he bribed doctors to prescribe a fentanyl product produced by Insys. That product is a Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl known as Subsys which was meant [for] cancer patients but prescribed widely to those who did not have cancer.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n In a scathing consumer fraud filing, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich\u00a0contended<\/a>,<\/p>\n \u201cInsys engaged in a nationwide scheme in which it deceived insurers, patients, and doctors. Insys lied to insurers, concealed key facts from doctors and patients, and paid doctors sham \u201cspeaker fees\u201d in exchange for writing prescriptions, all to increase the sales of Subsys, without regard for the health and safety of patients.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n