In a statement at the lauded Cleveland Clinic, Drug Enforcement Administration acting head Chuck Rosenberg said: “marijuana is not medicine.” The event was a Cleveland Clinic Community Healthcare Forum held on Thursday, May 25th, and the topic for the evening was “Our Nation’s Opioid Epidemic.”

In his comments, Rosenberg indicates that the science does not support its use medically. He deferred to the FDA, as they always have done, and their refusal to recognize the medical value and the thousands of studies that contradict that position. The Washington Examiner reports:

“If it turns out that there is something in smoked marijuana that helps people, that’s awesome,” he said, speaking at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. “I will be the last person to stand in the way of that. … But let’s run it through the Food and Drug Administration process, and let’s stick to the science on it.”

…Rosenberg noted that the DEA takes recommendations about how to classify the drug from the FDA. He pointed out that marijuana studies have been ongoing and acknowledged some studies show it may have medical benefits for children with epilepsy.

His comments were buttressed by the United States Surgeon General, Vivtek Murthy, who also spoke at the event. After admitting to the need for more research and the removal of barriers in the way, he shared his concerns about addiction and the chances that children could be more susceptible to drug addiction later in life if the develop an addiction to cannabis. The Examiner also reported:

“When you develop a substance use disorder at a young age, it actually increases the likelihood of you developing an addiction to other substances,” General Murthy told the audience. “So in that sense addiction to marijuana or any substance, including nicotine, during adolescence and young adulthood when the brain is developing is very concerning.”

Yet, in the end, he deferred to the science as the most important reason for policies, or changes to them, stating, “I worry that we have gotten away from allowing science to drive our policy when it comes to marijuana.”

Basing the decision whether marijuana (or cannabis) has medical value on science is, of course, what they should have done a very long time ago. With over 21,000 articles on Pub Med under the search term “cannabinoids” alone, it should be a fairly simple task to research the medical value. The lack of acknowledgment of the science and blatant discrimination against cannabis continues, even as the bureaucrats with the power contradict themselves with statements like these.