What class of drug is Cannabis?
Cannabis classification in the United Kingdom
Early in January 2006 Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said that on the basis of advice from the Advisory Council, a decision was made not to return cannabis to class B.[6] However, during Prime Minister's Questions on 18 July 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was reviewing again whether to return cannabis to class B status.[7][8] On 7 May 2008, Smith confirmed that cannabis in the UK would again be classified as a class B drug, despite the Advisory Council's recommendation.[9] On 26 January 2009, cannabis was reclassified as a class B drug.[10] The reclassification of cannabis to a class B drug had been hinted at as early as 2005 by allies of Gordon Brown, on the election night in 2005, Ed Balls stated that cannabis and the war in Iraq were mistakes that the Labour party had to learn from.[11]
Medical cannabis
In the US, the FDA has approved two oral cannabinoids for use as medicine: dronabinol and nabilone. Dronabinol, synthetic THC, is listed as Schedule II. Nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, is also Schedule II, indicating high potential for side effects and addiction. Both received approval for sale in the US in 1985, under the brand names Marinol and Cesamet. Nabiximols, an oromucosal spray derived from two strains of "Cannabis sativa" and containing THC and CBD, is not approved in the United States, but is approved in several European countries, Canada, and New Zealand as of 2013. As of 2018, medical marijuana in Canada is being legally distributed to registered patients in bud, drops and capsule forms by such companies as Canopy Growth Corp. and Aurora Cannabis.