He has a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University and is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine.
[6] A former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, he is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine, where he writes the Cannabis Column.
He noted that under the Controlled Substances Act, the key decision-makers on marijuana are the scientists at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, whose scientific and medical findings are binding on the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The petition sought to remove marijuana and its cannabinoids from Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substance Act on the grounds that the drug lacks the potential for abuse that warrants inclusion there.
[11] In 1999, Gettman speculated that if removed from Schedule I, cannabis could be:[12] However, upon reviewing the HHS evaluation, the DEA concluded in 2001 that adequate evidence did not exist to necessitate the change.
The court denied the case judicial review because Gettman, not a medical cannabis patient, was unharmed by the DEA restricting access to the drug.
In doing so, the DEA acknowledged sufficient merit in the evidence presented in the petition, which focused on accepted medicinal value rather than relative harm,[13] to warrant additional review rather than dismissal.