norml01 - Page 11
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I Respondent asserts that both the CSA and the FDCA _'call
l upon the government to determine what purpose a given drug is
supposed to serve and whether the drug truly serves that pur-
l pose." Respo Br. at 14o This is an accurate description of the
FDA's mandate under the FDCA in approving drugs for interstate
I marketing purposes; the CSA, however, contains no similar man-
date° Respondent notes that the CSA requires the Administrator
to consider a drugts pharmacological effect and the state of
I scientific knowledge about the drug when deciding whether to
transfer it from one schedule to another. Respo Bro at 13-14.
i Those factors, however_ have meaning only in the context of the
i schedule-specific findings required by § 812(b) o
Here, the only relevant finding is whether marijuana
i '_has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United
States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restric-
i tions." 21 U.SoC_ § 812(b) (2) (B)° For purposes of this
i proceeding, the parties have previously stipulated that marijuana
meets the other Schedule II criteria -- it has a high potential
j for abuse and its abuse could lead to severe dependence. 21
U.SoC. § 812(b) (2) (A)_ (C) o Evaluation of! a drug's pharma-
I cological effect is highly relevant to determining whether the
i drug has a potential for abuse and to assessing the consequences
of abuse, for purposes of placement withir_ the proper schedule°
U However_ an instruction to consider a drug's pharmacological
effect and the state of scientific knowledge about the drug does
not even remotely suggest that only drugs satisfying FDA approval
i standards can ever have an accepted medical use in treatment.
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