Oregon Board of Pharmacy Reschedules Marijuana

On June 16th, 2010, The State of Oregon - Board of Pharmacy has officially rescheduled Marijuana from 'Schedule I Controlled Substances' to 'Schedule II Controlled Substances'.

Portland — The Oregon State Board of Pharmacy acted today to remove marijuana from the list of “Schedule I Controlled Substances,” in accordance with a bill the legislature passed last year. The new law, ORS 475.059 established by Senate Bill 728, requires marijuana’s removal from a list of controlled substances that have a “high abuse potential and no acceptable medical use in the United States.” The Board placed marijuana into “Schedule II Controlled Substances,” which contains substances that have a “high abuse potential with severe psychological or physical dependence liability,” but are accepted for medical use in the US and are available by prescription. The Oregon Controlled Substances Act provides three additional schedules for substances that are progressively less serious or dangerous, Schedules III, IV and V. The Board reviewed scientific and medical literature and heard testimony from experts and members of the public before voting to move marijuana into Schedule II. This action is consistent with Oregon’s assertion that marijuana does have an acceptable medical use.

This is a landmark decision for the Oregon Board of Pharmacy and hopefully will set the precedent for other states to follow suit. In Oregon, how will this change how employers view Medical Marijuana use and people being drug tested and fired because of being a legal OMMP medical user? That issue is yet to follow and I for one, am looking forward to hearing the outcome. Here is the official press release from the Oregon Board of Pharmacy: http://www.pharmacy.state.or.us/Pharmacy/Imports/News/June2010PressReleaseMarijuana.pdf