The FDA approved a pot-derived drug for seizures — will the DEA allow it to be sold?

For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug made from cannabis. Epidiolex treats severe forms of childhood epilepsy — but the Drug Enforcement Administration will need to reclassify this form of cannabis before the drug can be put on the market.

For almost half a century, the DEA has classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD. (For context, cocaine and meth are Schedule II drugs.) Schedule I drugs are considered to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. “ As a result, it is extremely difficult for scientists to research the substance and pharmaceutical companies aren’t allowed to use it.

But now the FDA has approved Epidiolex as a medical drug....

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