WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday denied
requests to loosen the classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no
medical use. 

The decision is the DEA’s response to a 2011 petition by two
former state governors who had urged federal agencies to re-classify marijuana
as a drug with accepted medical uses.

 In a letter to the petitioners, the DEA said it had asked the
Department of Health and Human Services for a scientific and medical evaluation
of the issue.

“HHS concluded that marijuana has a high potential for
abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an
acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision,” the
letter said.

For decades, marijuana has been classified that way as a
“Schedule I” drug, on par with heroin. The government has repeatedly
rejected appeals over the years to reclassify marijuana.

The DEA said on Thursday that it concluded there was “no
substantial evidence” that marijuana should be removed from its
classification.

Loosening that definition could encourage scientific study of a
drug that is being used to treat diseases in several U.S. states despite little
proof of its effectiveness.

Twenty-five states have sanctioned some forms of marijuana use
for medical purposes. Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and the District of
Columbia have gone even further, allowing its recreational use for adults.