www.marijuanamoment.net Open in urlscan Pro
172.67.214.33  Public Scan

Form analysis
3 forms found in the DOM

GET https://www.marijuanamoment.net/

<form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/">
  <input type="text" name="s" id="s" value="Search" onfocus="if (this.value == &quot;Search&quot;) { this.value = &quot;&quot;; }" onblur="if (this.value == &quot;&quot;) { this.value = &quot;Search&quot;; }">
  <input type="hidden" id="searchsubmit" value="Search">
</form>

POST

<form id="mc4wp-form-2" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
  <div class="mc4wp-form-fields">Get our daily newsletter. <p>
      <label>Email address: </label>
      <input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
    </p>
    <p>
      <input type="submit" value="Sign up">
    </p>
  </div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
    value="1713899554"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-2">
  <div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>

POST

<form id="mc4wp-form-3" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-869" method="post" data-id="869" data-name="Marijuana News In Your Inbox">
  <div class="mc4wp-form-fields">Get our daily newsletter. <p>
      <label>Email address: </label>
      <input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
    </p>
    <p>
      <input type="submit" value="Sign up">
    </p>
  </div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
    value="1713899554"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="869"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-3">
  <div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>

Text Content

 * Politics
 * Science & Health
 * Culture
 * Business
 * Video
 * Newsletter
   * Subscribe
 * Remove Ads
 * Bill Tracking
   * About
   * Login Instructions
   * All 2024 Cannabis Bills
   * Bill Hearing Calendar
 * About Marijuana Moment
   * Support Marijuana Moment
   * Subscribe To Newsletter

Connect with us
 * 
 * 
 * 


MARIJUANA MOMENT

IN CASE ON PSILOCYBIN ACCESS FOR CANCER PATIENTS, DEA SAYS FEDERAL RIGHT TO TRY
LAW ‘DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY EXEMPTIONS’ FROM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ACT


 * Politics
   
    * In Case On Psilocybin Access For Cancer Patients, DEA Says Federal Right
      To Try Law ‘Does Not Provide Any Exemptions’ From Controlled Substance Act
   
    * Second California Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Psychedelic
      Service Centers
   
    * 4/20 Events At South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Double As
      Petition Drives For Full Legalization
   
    * Missouri Attorney General Opens Investigation Into Intoxicating Hemp
      Products
   
    * Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Tell VA To Prepare Plan For
      MDMA-Assisted Therapy As FDA Considers Approving The Psychedelic

 * Science & Health
   
    * State Marijuana Legalization Linked To Fewer Immigrant Deportations, Study
      Finds
   
    * CBD Is A ‘Powerful And Promising’ Treatment For Crack Use Disorder—With
      Fewer Side Effects Than Conventional Therapies, Study Finds
   
    * Marijuana Legalization Reduces Likelihood Of Teen Use, Study Published By
      American Medical Association Finds
   
    * Medical Marijuana Patient Enrollment Grew 610% Since 2016, Showing
      ‘Increasing Cultural Acceptance Of Cannabis,’ Federal Study Finds
   
    * Use Of Psilocybin For Mental Health Treatment ‘Not Associated’ With Risk
      Of Paranoia, American Medical Association Study Finds

 * Culture
   
    * Brands And Advocacy Groups—From ACLU To KFC—Launch 4/20 Promotions To Mark
      The Marijuana Holiday
   
    * Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura Promotes New Cannabis Brand Ahead Of
      4/20 That He’d ‘Offer To You’ On Governor’s Mansion Visit
   
    * Colorado Amendment Addresses Concerns On Banning Social Media Marijuana
      Posts, But Questions On Psychedelics And Other Drugs Remain
   
    * Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura Launches His Own Cannabis Brand,
      Fulfilling A ‘Lifelong Dream’
   
    * Marijuana Rolling Paper Company Seeks Content Creator To ‘Get Paid To
      Smoke Weed’ For $70,420 Salary

 * Business
   
    * Legal Marijuana Purchases In Michigan Spiked In March, Reaching A New
      Record High
   
    * The Legal Marijuana Industry Now Supports More Than 440,000 Full-Time
      Jobs, Up 5% From Last Year, Report Finds
   
    * Missouri Warns Marijuana License Applicants Of ‘Predatory Practices’
      Around Social Equity Status
   
    * Missouri Marijuana Worker Union Dispute Could Have Major Implications For
      National Labor Law
   
    * New Mexico Retailers Set A New Marijuana Sales Record In March

 * Video
   
    * Hawaii Senate Rejects Marijuana Decrim Expansion Bill, While Expungements
      Legislation Heads To Governor
   
    * Vermont Senate Panels Advance Safe Drug Consumption Site Bill After
      Narrowing Scope To A Single Burlington Facility
   
    * Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Tweet About Marijuana At Exactly 4:20 On 4/20
   
    * Ahead Of 4/20 White House Says Biden Has Been ‘Very Clear’ In Supporting
      Marijuana Decriminalization, But Admin Is Awaiting DOJ Rescheduling Action
   
    * New Hampshire Lawmakers Weigh Medical Marijuana Expansion Bills Amid
      Recreational Legalization Debate

 * Newsletter
   
    * Progressives plan cannabis votes under Democratic majority (Newsletter:
      April 23, 2024)
   
    * Biden celebrates 4/20 with cannabis reform push (Newsletter: April 22,
      2024)
   
    * Senate cannabis expungements bill (Newsletter: April 19, 2024)
   
    * Schumer & lawmakers talk cannabis as 4/20 approaches (Newsletter: April
      18, 2024)
   
    * Congressional cannabis & psychedelics votes (Newsletter: April 17, 2024)
   
   * Subscribe
 * Remove Ads
 * Bill Tracking
   * About
   * Login Instructions
   * All 2024 Cannabis Bills
   * Bill Hearing Calendar
 * About Marijuana Moment
   * Support Marijuana Moment
   * Subscribe To Newsletter




POLITICS


IN CASE ON PSILOCYBIN ACCESS FOR CANCER PATIENTS, DEA SAYS FEDERAL RIGHT TO TRY
LAW ‘DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY EXEMPTIONS’ FROM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ACT

Published

6 seconds ago

on

April 23, 2024

By

Ben Adlin

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is arguing that a federal law giving
seriously ill people the “right to try” investigational drugs doesn’t apply to
controlled substances like psychedelics. The agency’s claim comes in a new brief
in a lawsuit filed by a Washington State doctor seeking to legally use
psilocybin to treat cancer patients in end-of-life care.

“Because substances in Schedule I are deemed to have no accepted medical use in
under the CSA,” DEA contends, referring to the federal Controlled Substances Act
(CSA), “the law does not provide for any registration that would permit such
drugs to be dispensed in the course of professional practice.”

DEA filed the brief late last week in U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit, in response to the latest legal challenge from Dr. Sunil Aggarwal
and the Advanced Integrative Medical Science (AIMS) Institute. Aggarwal and AIMS
have spent years pursuing various legal and regulatory pathways to allow the
clinic to use psilocybin in palliative care.

Marijuana Consumers Have "Significantly Decreased Odds" Of Cognitive Decline

Marijuana Consumers Have "Significantly Decreased Odds" Of Cognitive Decline
A recent study suggests that marijuana users have lower chances of experiencing
subjective cognitive decline (SCD) compared to non-users. The study indicated
that people who consume cannabis for recreational or medical purposes reported
less confusion and memory loss compared to non-users. This finding holds
significance as previous research has linked subjective decline to increased
risk of dementia later in life.  However, the study reveals that the impact of
THC on cognitive function may be more complex than commonly assumed. 
Individuals using marijuana for medical purposes or both medical and
recreational purposes also showed “decreased odds of SCD, although not
significant”. Past studies have highlighted negative associations between heavy
cannabis use and mental performance.  The authors highlight that cognitive
effects are influenced by factors like purpose of use, extending beyond
consumption frequency.  The study proposes several theories explaining the
association between cannabis use and reduced cognitive decline.  These include
the potential benefits of marijuana in improving sleep quality and alleviating
stress. “Several studies have found that cannabis use might enhance sleep
quality, expedite sleep onset, and reduce sleep disturbances. Non-medical
cannabis use could have contributed to the observed decrease in SCD due to its
potential benefit on sleep quality,” the new paper says.
More Videos


0 seconds of 1 minute, 37 secondsVolume 0%

Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled
Play/PauseSPACE
Increase Volume↑
Decrease Volume↓
Seek Forward→
Seek Backward←
Captions On/Offc
Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf
Mute/Unmutem
Decrease Caption Size-
Increase Caption Size+ or =
Seek %0-9

Next Up
Cannabis May Be “Viable Alternative” Treatment For Dogs With Common Skin Disease
01:23
facebook twitter Email pinterest
Linkhttps://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/xlU8CGIt
Copied
Live
00:00
01:48
01:37








 

The clinic generally argues that the CSA must accommodate a path to legally
accessing psilocybin under state and federal right to try (RTT) laws, which are
intended to give patients with terminal conditions the opportunity to try
investigational medications that have not been approved for general use.

Washington State adopted a right to try law in 2017, and then-President Donald
Trump (R) signed the federal Right to Try Act the following year. Dozens of
other states have also enacted right to try policies.



In the years since, AIMS has presented DEA with multiple proposals in order
either to legally cultivate or otherwise obtain psilocybin to treat patients
under RTT. The agency has denied them all.

“DEA has rejected each request,” the clinic argued in its opening brief earlier
this year, “but has never addressed the arguments that Dr. Aggarwal has raised
in support of them.”

“If DEA wants to disclaim authority to grant Dr. Aggarwal access to psilocybin
under the CSA and RTT,” AIMS contined, “it must provide a reasoned explanation
for how that decision comports with the CSA and the agency’s own precedent.”



Eight U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C. have filed a friend of the court
brief in support of AIMS’s effort to use psilocybin under state and federal RTT
laws.

But in its response this week, DEA asserts that the federal RTT Act doesn’t
affect CSA’s prohibition of certain drugs.

“The Right to Try Act does not provide anyone with a right to dispense or
receive controlled substances,” the new brief says. Rather, the primary function
of the federal law was “to relieve qualifying individuals from regulatory
requirements that would otherwise be imposed on eligible investigational drugs
under the” federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA), DEA argues.

“As DEA explained, the Right to Try Act does not ‘provide any exemptions from
the CSA or its implementing regulations. And it does not ‘give the DEA authority
to waive CSA requirements,'” the government’s brief says. “Indeed, the Right to
Try Act does not even mention the CSA or controlled substances at all.”



If Aggarwal wants to give psilocybin to patients, DEA contends he would need to
be a registered researcher conducting an approved project—which DEA says are
matters handled by different federal agencies.

“The only registration that would permit a physician to dispense a schedule I
controlled substance is registration as a researcher conducting an approved
research project,” its brief says. “DEA cannot issue such a registration unless
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through FDA, determines that
the research protocol is meritorious and the applicant is qualified and
competent to conduct it.”



DEA’s brief criticizes the AIMS lawsuit’s interpretation of the law as “a
fundamental misunderstanding” and “a tortuous account of the interaction between
the two statutes”—RTT and FDCA. Such a reading, it says, “would vest authority
in DEA to allow physicians to provide patients with schedule I substances for
therapeutic purposes, notwithstanding Congress’s determination that the drugs
lack accepted medical use or safety under medical supervision.”

“Petitioners’ posited tensions between the CSA and the FDCA are without basis,”
the agency’s brief says. “While the subject matter of the two statutes overlaps
somewhat (because they both deal with drugs), each statute establishes its own
requirements and prohibitions, and DEA and FDA have complementary spheres of
authority… But that does not mean that one agency has superseded or interfered
with the other’s statutory regime.”

A 2022 amendment to the federal RTT Act created a separate registration process
to facilitate cannabis research, DEA noted in its brief, but “this new process
still requires that new research projects be ‘reviewed and allowed…by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.'”



“Thus,” the filing says, “even when Congress has acted specifically to enhance
research of a Schedule I drug, it has made researcher registration conditional
on approval by the Secretary.”

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Washington State and eight other
jurisdictions—Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon,
Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.—filed an amicus brief in support of the
clinic’s position, arguing that CSA doesn’t prohibit the use of controlled
substances under RTT. Many of the same states filed an amicus brief in a related
2021 case involving Aggarwal.



“The CSA was intended to combat drug trafficking and abuse,” says the latest
filing, led by the office of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D).

“It is easy to make sense of both the CSA and the later, more specific RTT Act,”
it suggests: “neither law facilitates traffic in illicit substances, both laws
emphasize the primacy of states in the regulation of medical practice, and the
RTT Act includes broad immunity from liability.”

“It is irrelevant whether a Schedule I substance has a ‘currently accepted
medical use’ under the CSA in the context of uses authorized by the RTT Act,”
the states’ brief says. “The RTT Act’s purpose is to provide a unique, targeted
exemption from such requirements.”

Aggarwal and AIMS have been working since at least 2020 to find a way to legally
obtain psilocybin for patients in palliative care, initially seeking to win
permission from regulators under state and federal RTT laws.



When DEA rebuffed that request, Aggarwal sued. But in early 2022, a federal
appellate panel dismissed the lawsuit, opining that the court lacked
jurisdiction because DEA’s rejection of Aggarwal’s administrative request didn’t
constitute a reviewable agency action.

The current Ninth Circuit cases stems from Aggarwal’s responses to that ruling.
In February 2022, the doctor filed a formal petition with DEA to reschedule
psilocybin from Schedule I to Schedule II under the federal Controlled
Substances Act (CSA)—the denial of which is a reviewable action. He also applied
for the regulatory waiver to obtain psilocybin.



DEA denied Aggarwal’s petition in September 2022 and rejected the waiver request
the next month. The doctor’s Ninth Circuit cases challenge both decisions.

As Aggarwal’s efforts have made its way through the courts, a number of studies
have strengthened the case for psilocybin’s legitimate medical use. In response,
Congress late last year sent a defense bill to President Joe Biden (D) that
contains provisions to fund studies into the therapeutic use of psychedelics
such as psilocybin and MDMA for military service members.

A recent clinical trial published by the American Medical Association,
meanwhile, found that psilocybin “displayed strong and persistent antidepressant
effects” in people with bipolar II disorder, “with no signal of worsening mood
instability or increased suicidality.”

In September of last year, researchers at Johns Hopkins and Ohio State
universities published a report that linked psilocybin use with “persisting
reductions” in depression, anxiety and alcohol misuse, as well as increases in
emotional regulation, spiritual wellbeing and extraversion.



Those results were “highly consistent with a growing body of clinical trial,
behavioral pharmacology, and epidemiological data on psilocybin,” authors of the
study said. “Overall, these data provide an important window into the current
resurgence of public interest in classic psychedelics and the outcomes of
contemporaneous increases in naturalistic psilocybin use.”

Last August, a separate study from the American Medical Association (AMA) found
that people with major depression experienced “clinically significant sustained
reduction” in their symptoms after just one dose of psilocybin.

And a survey by Canadian researchers published in October said psilocybin
use can help ease psychological distress in people who had adverse experiences
as children. Researchers said psilocybin appeared to offer “particularly strong
benefits to those with more severe childhood adversity.”

Canada, for its part, allowed four cancer patients in 2020 to become the
nation’s first people in decades to legally possess psilocybin after being
granted permission by the country’s health minister to use the substance for
end-of-life care. Later that year, some healthcare professionals also gained the
ability to legally possess and use psilocybin themselves.



A survey published earlier this year found that roughly 8 in 10 Canadians
believe psilocybin is “a reasonable choice” for end-of-life care.

Read the DEA response brief in AIMS v. DEA below:





> Second California Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Psychedelic
> Service Centers



Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Workman.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon
pledge.
Related Topics:featured

Don't Miss

Second California Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Psychedelic Service
Centers

Ben Adlin


Ben Adlin, a senior editor at Marijuana Moment, has been covering cannabis and
other drug policy issues professionally since 2011. He was previously a senior
news editor at Leafly, an associate editor at the Los Angeles Daily Journal and
a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. He lives in Washington State.



YOU MAY LIKE

Second California Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Psychedelic Service
Centers

State Marijuana Legalization Linked To Fewer Immigrant Deportations, Study Finds

4/20 Events At South Dakota’s Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Double As Petition
Drives For Full Legalization

Missouri Attorney General Opens Investigation Into Intoxicating Hemp Products

Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Tell VA To Prepare Plan For MDMA-Assisted
Therapy As FDA Considers Approving The Psychedelic

DEA Shouldn’t Be In Charge Of Marijuana Rescheduling Decision, Jesse Ventura
Says


Advertisement

MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

Get our daily newsletter.

Email address:



Leave this field empty if you're human:



SUPPORT MARIJUANA MOMENT







 * 
 * 
 * 

 * About Marijuana Moment
 * Subscribe
 * Sponsorship and Advertising
 * Privacy Policy

All the cannabis news you need, all in one place. Copyright © 2017-2024
Marijuana Moment LLC ® and Tom Angell

Information from your device can be used to personalize your ad experience.

Do not sell or share my personal information.
A Raptive Partner Site







✕
Do not sell or share my personal information.
You have chosen to opt-out of the sale or sharing of your information from this
site and any of its affiliates. To opt back in please click the "Customize my ad
experience" link.

This site collects information through the use of cookies and other tracking
tools. Cookies and these tools do not contain any information that personally
identifies a user, but personal information that would be stored about you may
be linked to the information stored in and obtained from them. This information
would be used and shared for Analytics, Ad Serving, Interest Based Advertising,
among other purposes.

For more information please visit this site's Privacy Policy.
CANCEL
CONTINUE






MARIJUANA NEWS IN YOUR INBOX

 

Get our daily newsletter.

Email address:



Leave this field empty if you're human:

×