Two federal agencies are unable to determine which agency has responsibility over an independent, peer-reviewed study on the medicinal properties of marijuana. A popular libertarian think tank is petitioning the White House to step in and settle the dispute.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sent a letter to a division of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting clarity to end a several year long disagreement over an alleged violation of the Information Quality Act (IQA) in regards to marijuana.
The CEI is pressing the DEA and the HHS to review the scientific evidence that has been used to deny petitions to reschedule marijuana. The organization claims under federal law there must be such a review, but both agencies have abandoned responsibility; each claiming the other agency is responsible.
“HHS claims DEA was responsible for IQA compliance because DEA disseminated the evaluation without HHS approval,” the group said. “DEA claims compliance was HHS’s responsibility because the evaluation was performed by HHS.”
The CEI is saying enough of the childish finger pointing, it is time for science to settle this debate once and for all.