This is the Federal Government's Patent on Marijuana-as-Medicine
When it comes to rescheduling cannabis for its medical use in the United States, organizations have been preoccupied with petitioning the wrong federal entity, namely the DEA; which is ultimately irrelevant to the discussion because:
“In response to…petitions, [the] DEA request[ed] a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…”
So it is the HHS that is called upon by the DEA to recommend where cannabis should go in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) based on their “scientific and medical evaluation.”, not the DEA itself, who is only meant to enforce the CSA.
In the DEA’s 2016 federal register notice on the matter, the HHS recommended that “marijuana remain a schedule 1 controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”
All the while, the HHS simultaneously owns, has licensed-out and has therefore procured licensing fees (50k/yr) from a medical marijuana patent granted to them in 2003: “Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants” U.S 6,630,507, claiming cannabis compounds are useful in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases; from Crohn's to Cancer (‘neoplasts’). It is advertised by those involved as a CBD-only patent, but that’s simply not true. The patent defines for itself what it means by its use of “cannabinoids”: “As used herein, a “cannabinoid” is a chemical compound (such as cannabinol, THC or cannabidiol) that is found in the plant species Cannabis sativa (marijuana), and metabolites and synthetic analogues thereof that may or may not have psychoactive properties.”
Kannalife , the private entity who received the exclusive licensing to commercialize the ‘507 patent, in turn received $1.5 million dollars for research and development (with Advanced Neural Dynamics and Interamed) from two publically traded Marijuana investing businesses here in the United States (Medical Marijuana Inc. and Cannavest). They then approached an American ‘amway-style’ sales company called Kannaway to ‘develop and brand their novel phyto-medical and naturopathic products’ through a 5-year ‘sales, marketing and product development agreement.’ Kannalife will also be certifying additional products being sold through the Kannaway Network and other world-wide licensees.
The DEA, HHS, FDA, NIH, PTO, KannaLife, Advanced Neural Dynamics, Interamed and Kannaway are all violating the CSA in one way or another while staying below the public’s radar.
The federal government, Kannalife and their partners are set to make millions over the next several years (all from research conducted using our tax dollars, and all while locking people up by using more of our tax dollars)...
This is clear collusion between federal and private entities. People are being irreparably harmed by preventable and treatable diseases while they're focused on making money. The HHS is protecting their interests (licensing fees and eventual royalties) by insisting that marijuana has no medical value, therefore keeping the public from personally utilizing its medical value right now and not at the government’s time or price point. The HHS will be getting a piece of the profit for every medicament sold. The HHS protects the technology securing Kannalife’s success… The more Kannalife makes, the more the HHS makes. It’s an obvious conflict of interest.
It’s about money and control… The DEA and local police steal property and money under the civil forfeiture act, private prisons get their fill with non-violent offenders, the legal system with judges and lawyers get paid and politicians stay funded by donors ensuring their re-electability to maintain the status quo. Even the non-governmental organizations for medical research continue to rake in funds for conditions that are preventable and treatable according to the patent; all while the American people are being adversely impacted by their greedy omissions...
The HHS is in a dilemma and has to choose one or the other (either/or conundrum) because their scheduling recommendation's claim: (marijuana has no “accepted medical use in treatment in the US”) is mutually exclusive to their royalty-bearing, exclusively-licensed patent’s claim: (marijuana has “use in prophylaxis and treatment of disease.” in the US).
The HHS needs to either relinquish the patent and dissolve all non-governmental/private entity licensing agreements and partnerships previously granted for cannabinoids to be used as medicine in the United States (Kannalife, etc.)... Or the HHS needs to be scientifically, philosophically and legally consistent and reschedule the plant to where doctors and patients can have safe access to what’s treatable according to the patent.