The Drug Enforcement Administration's proposed reclassification of marijuana from a Schedule I narcotic to a Schedule III drug would allow researchers to do more research on weed's medicinal properties, but what type of research would the reclassification allow?
Dr. Benjamin Springgate with LSU Health New Orleans says research has allowed the medical community to prescribe THC products to help treat nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatments. He told WWL's Tommy Tucker that rescheduling weed as a Schedule III drug will allow researchers to test the benefits of using cannabis to treat other illnesses.
"By moving it to Schedule III, that would facilitate more use in the medical realm and reduce some of the focus on things like marijuana being a drug that warrants criminalization," Dr. Springgate said. "We see now that THC and cannabis products are being recommended by physicians in states across the country for other conditions as well."
Dr. Springgate says that includes pain, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and illnesses caused by chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. Further research, Dr. Springgate says, could lead to doctors being allowed to prescribe--and not just recommend--THC and other weed-derived products to treat illnesses.
"Right now, many states around the country, including Louisiana, allow for doctors to recommend marijuana-based, cannabis-based products to treat certain illnesses," Dr. Springgate said. "Moving it to Schedule III would allow this to be something that would be more regulated in the context of prescriptions."
