Last week the American Medical Association (AMA) announced its support of moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II status. The AMA has refused to budge on this for decades, and opponents of marijuana law reform often cite the organization’s stance as an argument that marijuana should remain illegal.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which has used the AMA’s stance in just such a manner, has yet to comment on the AMA’s suggestion. Yesterday, however, the agency removed that particular bulletpoint from its list of reasons why pot should remain illegal.
The change can probably be attributed to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of police officers, judges, lawyers, and many other law-enforcement officials who oppose drug prohibition. LEAP organized a letter-writing campaign to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting the site be updated.
One question, though: If the DEA were truly transparent, as it claims to be, wouldn’t it not only remove the previous AMA position but replace it with the association’s new stance?
