Cannabis rescheduling in the United States refers to the proposed removal of marijuana from Schedule I, the most tightly-restricted category of drugs, by the U.S. Congress or the Attorney General. Since the early 1970s, cannabis reform advocates and the Drug Enforcement Administration have been battling over whether to transfer marijuana to a different category that would allow medical use. Rescheduling proponents claim that cannabis is not addictive or harmful enough to meet the Controlled Substances Act's strict criteria for placement in Schedule I. The Government argues that marijuana does not meet its criteria for acceptable medical use, and that evidence of cannabis' widespread use is more relevant than animal studies in establishing the drug's abuse potential. The most recent rescheduling petition, filed by medical marijuana advocates in 2002, is likely to wind up in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_rescheduling_in_the_United_States

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1521: Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan)

1660: Long Parliament, originally called by Charles I, dissolved. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Parliament)

1900: Sir Arthur Evans purchased the ruins of Knossos on Crete. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knossos)

1968: American soldiers killed 347 civilians at My Lai in Vietnam. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre)

1985: Newsman Terry Anderson was taken hostage in Beirut. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Anderson)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"If in my lifetime the problem of non-free software is solved, I could perhaps relax and write software again. But I might instead try to help deal with the world's larger problems. Standing up to an evil system is exhilarating, and now I have a taste for it." -- Richard Stallman (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman)