Cannabis prohibition is a hotly debated topic in the U.S.; there's no doubt about that. Many people feel that government agencies' rigid stance on cannabis is an assault on health freedom -- and you could say that their insistence on keeping marijuana labeled as a "Schedule I" drug has halted virtually any possibility of investigating the plant's potential medicinal capacity. The government has had the marijuana plant in their crosshairs for years -- and the crackdown on cannabis only continues to get worse. Recently, the FDA issued a warning against using cannabis or cannabis products for treating cancer.
Four companies that produce cannabis products have gotten the FDA's attention, due to claims that the products can cure cancer, shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. The companies targeted by the FDA include Greenroads Health, Natural Alchemist, That's Natural! Marketing and Consulting, and Stanley Brothers.
In a November 1 press release, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., stated, "Substances that contain components of marijuana will be treated like any other products that make unproven claims to shrink cancer tumors. We don’t let companies market products that deliberately prey on sick people with baseless claims that their substance can shrink or cure cancer and we’re not going to look the other way on enforcing these principles when it comes to marijuana-containing products."
As the Daily Mail reports, "the FDA warned that no studies have been done on these products to test their disease-fighting properties." While it is true that these four companies have violated regulations by putting forth unverified claims, the sad truth is that doing research on cannabis is still quite prohibitive.
In 2016, the DEA reaffirmed that cannabis would remain a Schedule I drug, meaning that it is ranked among the most dangerous drugs in the world and considered to have no medical value. At the time, Acting Director of the DEA Chuck Rosenberg reportedly commented, "This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine, and it’s not.”
Rosenberg's statement also declared that the Department of Health and Human Services hadn't enough research regarding the plant's safety and efficacy -- and this fact was used to prop up the DEA's refusal to reschedule cannabis. This argument is circular: There is not enough research on cannabis because of its scheduling and the severe restrictions that go along with it. If researchers cannot study cannabis, how can there ever be enough research to support rescheduling?
While the government may be doing their best to keep cannabis off the table, it hasn't stopped U.S. states from legalizing the plant within their borders. Many states now have laws that permit cannabis for medicinal or recreational use.
Despite the FDA's insistence that there's no reason to believe cannabis has medicinal value, there are countless anecdotal stories from people of all ages who've used marijuana as medicine. Just recently, a grandmother from the U.K. revealed that cannabis oil shrunk her tumors down to just one-eighth of their original size. In September, a woman from Scotland also came forward, sharing her story of how cannabis defeated her "incurable" brain tumor.
And it's not just cancer: Children who suffer from seizure disorders have also had success treating their conditions with cannabis oil.
In 2015, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse even admitted that cannabis can kill cancer or reduce the size of cancer cells.
Clearly, if the FDA or the DEA really wanted to investigate the potential health benefits of cannabis, they wouldn't have to look very far.
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