Quartz: The DEA’s sop to pot advocates won’t boost marijuana research very much at all

Many cannabis fans were disappointed by the decision. “Mind-boggling…intellectually dishonest and completely indefensible,” said the Marijuana Policy Project’s spokesperson. The decision “flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” said the executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

McClatchy: Obama, once pot smokers’ hero, will leave office a disappointment

The decision means the Obama administration is now backing the same policy approved in 1970, when Congress and President Richard Nixon teamed up to pass the Controlled Substances Act, signaling the start of the nation’s war on drugs.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said the DEA had chosen to reaffirm a “flat-earth position,” while the National Cannabis Industry Association said the ruling “flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion.”

Esquire: The Federal Government Still Thinks Weed Is as Dangerous as Heroin

But while equating weed and smack is terrible science, the policy also has terrible consequences. Schedule I status prevents the federal government from directing money towards research on that drug—since, as the D.E.A. says, it has no medical purpose and that’s that—so for the last 46 years, anyone looking to study the actual effects of marijuana use has been on their own. Of course, a good way to never find a safe medical use for something is to prevent people from studying it.

“DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” said National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith in a statement today. “The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives. Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws.”

NJ.com: The medical marijuana movement just got some really bad news

“The DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion. The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives,” National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement Wednesday night.

“Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws,” Smith said.

Reason: DEA Rejects Marijuana Rescheduling but Eliminates a Research Barrier

Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, was a bit more upbeat. “We appreciate the positive step—however small—of opening up a few additional avenues for medical marijuana research,” he said. “But patients deserve more, and Congress should help them by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, allowing state programs and medical research to move forward without interference.”

International Business Times: Marijuana Legalization 2016: Medical Pot Research To Expand Under New DEA Policy

“[The] DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion. The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives,” read a statement from the National Cannabis Industry Association. “Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws. We appreciate the positive step – however small – of opening up a few additional avenues for medical marijuana research. But patients deserve more, and Congress should help them by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, allowing state programs and medical research to move forward without interference.”

The Daily Caller: Report: DEA Will Not Reschedule Marijuana

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) vehemently disagrees with the notion that pot has no medical value.

“[The] DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” a statement released by the NCIA read. “The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives.”

“Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws,” the statement concludes.

L.A. Weekly: Despite Hopeful Rumors, No Change Is in Store for Marijuana’s Outlaw Status

The New York Times reports that the administration will soon announce an expansion of the number of institutions that will be able to provide cannabis for legitimate research projects. Such facilities are currently limited to, well, one — the University of Mississippi,

“We appreciate the positive step — however small — of opening up a few additional avenues for medical marijuana research,” said National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith. “But patients deserve more, and Congress should help them by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, allowing state programs and medical research to move forward without interference.”

Vocativ: Feds Review Marijuana Scheduling, Keep It At Highest Level

Based on information from the Food and Drug Administration, the DEA will keep marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, alongside LSD and heroin. The decision is a disappointment to a growing number of pro-marijuana groups. “DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement. “The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives.”

The Spokesman-Review: DEA to WA: Pot has no medical uses

Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, called the increase in supply for marijuana research a small but positive step, but the DEA’s refusal to reschedule the drug “flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming opinion.”

The Fix: DEA: Marijuana To Remain Schedule I Drug

Pot advocates are speaking out against the agency. “DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion. The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives,” said National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith in a statement. “Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws.”

Santa Monica Observer: DEA Won’t Reclassify Medical Marijuana as Schedule II, Despite Governors’ Petitions

The decision angered marijuana supporters.

“DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement late Wednesday.

UPI: DEA declines to reclassify marijuana, cites no ‘currently accepted medical’ value

The National Cannabis Industry Association on Thursday said the DEA’s decision “flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion.”

“Continuing marijuana prohibition forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws,” NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement.

Business Insider: The DEA made a big decision on marijuana, but it wasn’t the one everyone was hoping for

“We appreciate the positive step — however small — of opening up a few additional avenues for medical marijuana research,” Aaron Smith, the executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association said in a statement. “But patients deserve more, and Congress should help them by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, allowing state programs and medical research to move forward without interference.”

Colorado Springs Gazette: DEA refuses to legalize marijuana, says it has no medical value

“DEA’s decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion,” said National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith. “The reality is that half of U.S. states have already passed effective laws allowing patients legal access to medical cannabis, and it is changing lives.”

To continue to deny marijuana’s health benefits “forces critically ill people to suffer needlessly, leaves life-changing treatments undeveloped, and keeps patients and providers in limbo between state and federal laws,” Smith said.

WJXT (Jacksonville): Medical marijuana dispensaries face problems with banks

Cannabis has its own trade association, which is asking local lawmakers to put pressure on Washington.

“Businesses are often being forced to operate in cash, or with bank accounts that can be taken away at any moment,” Taylor West, with National Cannabis Industry Association, said.

The Hill: Pot proponents plot legislative blitz

Of the 45 Republicans who voted for the bill, six came from the four states that had already legalized marijuana. Marijuana advocates hope they can peel off votes from the 18 Republicans and two Democrats who represent the five states where pot initiatives will be on the ballot this year who voted against the bill last year. Those members, the logic goes, won’t want the Justice Department suing their states.

“We know that all politics is local, and that members of Congress are primarily concerned with what’s going on” in their districts, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

The Hill: Pot proponents see momentum

The ballot measures passed in recent years, proponents and opponents say, have provided both sides with valuable lessons and new tools they will use to sway voters this year.

“What we have now on our side is actual experience in states like Colorado and Washington,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, based in Denver. “Now voters can actually see how these programs are working in these states. Before, there were prophecies of doom and gloom.”

International Business Times: Where Will Pot Be Legal Next? Recreational Marijuana On The Ballot In 5 States On Election Day 2016

In addition to those states, four other states — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and Missouri — will have ballot measures this year to make marijuana legal for medical use. The eight ballot measures will be the largest swath of voters weighing in on the issue of marijuana legalization in history.

“This is really a watershed year for marijuana legalization, so I’m hoping that we’ll see some big changes in November,” F. Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, told CNN.

Westword: Medical Marijuana Supported by Testimony at Senate Judiciary Hearing

Numerous individuals and organizations had been invited to present testimony, including Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. NCIA represents more than 1,000 businesses in forty states, including many in Colorado. Smith told the senators that while the American public has acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis for decades, the federal government has yet to do so. This reluctance at the federal level has prohibited adequate research into cannabis, which furthers the argument of naysayers. It’s a catch-22, he said: Without legitimate research, detractors can continue to claim that marijuana does not have any medical value — but as it stands, scientific research is not possible, so it’s hard to prove the medical benefits of the substance.

“The DEA has put up bureaucratic roadblocks to legitimate science and has severely limited, if not completely obstructed, legitimate researchers who would study cannabis’s benefits,” Smith said. “Americans are denied the opportunity to see the results of FDA-approved, double-blind studies demonstrating the benefits of medical marijuana, while elected officials erroneously point to the lack of these studies as evidence of a lack of therapeutic benefits.”

Smith argued that bringing marijuana policy “into alignment” with science would replace the criminal marketplace with tax-paying businesses that are “committed to the compassionate care, health and wellness of its patients.”

Mic: Where Are Weed Edibles Legal in the U.S.? This Map Shows You Pot Laws by State

“Basically, every state is doing it differently,” Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said over the phone. States where adult recreational use is legal — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — have diverse laws on edibles. The information below comes from the National Cannabis Industry State-by-State Marijuana Policies Map.

Westword: Democratics and Republicans Release Platforms on Pot…Sort Of

Activists see this plank in the Democratic platform as a major victory. On July 13, the National Cannabis Industry Association testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, stating that “it’s long past time for our government to bring marijuana policy into alignment with the science and allow states to regulate cannabis properly without federal interference.”

CBS News: Stakes high as California poised to vote on recreational pot

If the measure passes in California, the number of Americans living in states where pot is legal will more than triple.

“That really helps puts pressure on Congress to deal with some of the major issues that have come out of the state and federal conflict on cannabis laws,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

McClatchy: Pot backers hope California vote will pressure Congress to ease laws

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, is hopeful that a California vote this fall to legalize marijuana for recreational use will convince Congress to loosen the rules.

“California is the sixth largest economy in the world,” she said. “This is not some small experiment. This would be a major state making a clear decision to create a regulated market.”

Cleveland.com: Cashless payment system proposed for Ohio medical marijuana program

Several technology companies have announced closed-loop payment systems in the past few years. Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said the systems are not yet common among marijuana businesses.

West said Congress will likely act in the next two years on legislation reforming banking regulations.

The Inlander: TOO MUCH GREEN

Well, you may have noticed that there’s a movement away from “marijuana,” as both growers and retailers brand their product as “cannabis.” It’s hard to argue with that move, considering the actual name of the plant in question is technically cannabis.

“This is certainly a conversation within the industry and the [legalization] movement,” says Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a national trade organization that works to promote and legitimize the legal cannabis industry.

“Overall, we prefer to use the term cannabis, both because it’s more scientific and because it doesn’t carry the history of the word ‘marijuana,'” she says.

Cleveland.com: Small businesses prepare for Ohio medical marijuana market months before regulations announced

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said it’s important that regulators listen to patients and providers while setting up Ohio’s system.

“Otherwise you end up with programs like New Jersey, where they technically have a medical marijuana program but it’s so limited that hardly any patients are being served,” West said.

Breitbart: California Could Make Billions on Legal Marijuana

There are already 330 California companies that are large enough to have joined the National Cannabis Industry Association. But venture capital and private equity firms are still interested in putting new “money to work” through equity investments in California cultivators, dispensaries, laboratories, software developers, insurers and more.

Reuters: Californians seek pot of gold in marijuana legalization

Since January, 115 new California companies have joined the National Cannabis Industry Association, bringing total membership in the state to 330, said Deputy Director Taylor West.

New companies include cultivators, dispensaries, laboratories, law partnerships, accountants, software developers, insurers and more, she said.

The Colorado Independent: How would anti-pot Chris Christie play as Trump’s VP in swing state Colorado?

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association — which has offices in Washington, D.C. and Denver — says that if Trump chooses Christie, the move will offer a clear contrast for voters in Colorado.

“I think having Christie on the ticket would immediately make it clear that the Republican side of the ticket would be significantly worse for respecting Colorado voters than the Democratic side,” she says.

Among the Republicans who ran in the once-sprawling Republican primary for president this cycle, Christie, a former federal prosecutor, stood out for his hardcore stance against legalizing and decriminalizing pot possession.