Factbox: Cannabis industry reacts to DEA decision on marijuana

Axim Biotechnologies

11/08/2016 20:17

By Natalie Grover 
    Aug 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration 
on Thursday denied requests to stop classifying marijuana as a 
dangerous drug with no medical use, leaving users and businesses 
in limbo after many states have legalized it for medical or 
recreational purposes. 
    But the DEA did relax certain restrictions on growing 
marijuana for research purposes.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1AS0TA 
    For decades, marijuana has been listed as a "Schedule I" 
drug, placing it on par with heroin and LSD.  
    Following are responses from cannabis industry executives. 
     
    COMMENTARY: 
    STU TITUS, CEO of MEDICAL MARIJUANA INC  MJNA.PK , a 
California maker of hemp oil  
    "It's unfortunate that we're not going to be able to further 
legitimize the industry, as I'm sure this will have a negative 
impact on the ability of these businesses to bank on cannabis 
industry cash."  
     
    GEORGE ANASTASSOV, CEO of AXIM BIOTECHNOLOGIES INC 
 AXIM.PK , a Manhattan company developing a cannabis-based 
chewing gum for multiple sclerosis  
    "This DEA announcement affects the industry very positively. 
It will weed out the snake oil salesmen from the market. The 
companies which provide sufficient evidence for efficiency, that 
is sufficient for drug registration, will be able to move 
forward in the market and succeed."   
     
   JONATHAN TEETERS, director of government affairs for Tradiv, 
an online wholesale marketplace that connects cannabis 
cultivators with dispensaries 
    "Rescheduling could be a Trojan Horse that keeps cannabis in 
a controlled substance status. This could potentially undermine 
local efforts to shape medical and recreational regulatory 
landscapes. This type of move by the federal government ... 
could make it more difficult to bring cannabis to market." 
    "Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act may be 
a much better approach for all parties concerned."  
     
    TROY DAYTON, CEO of ARCVIEW GROUP, which links investors to 
cannabis businesses 
    "They have their head in the sand. Voters, countless 
studies, major doctor groups, and millions of patients 
overwhelmingly recognize the medical applications of cannabis."  
    "This market is still poised to grow at a 32 percent 
compound annual growth rate over the coming years because voters 
understand that cannabis is clearly a medicine that doctors and 
patients should be able to have as a treatment option." 
     
    JOHN KAGIA, executive vice president of industry analytics 
at cannabis-focused data firm New Frontier 
    "The industry has seen continued growth despite the federal 
position that cannabis is a Schedule I substance, so we don't 
think this is constructively going to impact the continued 
evolution of the cannabis industry." 
 
 (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Additional reporting 
by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) 
 ((natalie.grover@thomsonreuters.com)(;)(within U.S. +1 646 223 
8780, outside U.S. +91 99 1694 7070)(; Reuters 
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Keywords: USA MARIJUANA/