Why #TalktotheHand is Trending

While roaming the Twitterverse the past day, you probably noticed the hashtag #TalktotheHand, or at least a multitude of pictures of floating hands with a number jotted on them. That number is 6630507, and it's a patent medical cannabis. What's the big deal? It's the fact that the US government filed for the patent.

A few days ago, the DEA refused to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance to a Schedule 2, which would have allowed easier access for patients in need. Their claim for not rescheduling cannabis is that is has "no currently accepted medical use." (As a company that has a DEA license to perform clinical research on cannabis, we disagree.) Oddly enough, patent 6630507 - filed by the US government states that cannabinoids have health benefits. Contradictory? Extremely.

Another seemingly divergent statement came from DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. "If the scientific understanding about marijuana changes — and it could change — then the decision could change," Rosenberg mentioned. "But we will remain tethered to science, as we must, and as the statute demands." The science is out there, including the research we are performing at MyCROSite PCS.

More in the Washington Post.