On March 22, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) filed its first response brief (81-page PDF) to Prof. Lyle Craker’s lawsuit in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which he filed on December 15, 2011. Prof. Craker is objecting to the DEA’s rejection of DEA Administrative Law Judge Bittner’s recommendation that it would be in the public interest to license Prof. Craker to grow marijuana for federally-regulated research. Granting Prof. Craker this license would end the federal monopoly on marijuana for research and open the door for non-profit medical marijuana research. In their response brief, DEA lawyers (1) argue that the First Circuit Court of Appeals lacks jurisdiction in the case, (2) move to strike parts of our argument based on NIDA’s September 2011 refusal to sell us marijuana for our FDA-approved protocol for veterans with PTSD, and (3) reiterate previous arguments claiming that international treaty obligations forbid granting Prof. Craker a license. Prof. Craker’s lawyers are now developing what we believe will be an effective response to the jurisdictional issues as well as the substantive issues. The reply from Prof. Craker’s legal team will be submitted in early May.
