All Marijuana use hopes died on Thursday after the Drug Enforcement Administration declared that Marijuana will be treated as illegal for all purposes under the federal law. As before, Marijuana will remain Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

The substances listed as Schedule 1 have no medical application as per the Food and Drug Administration. Previously many states have legalized medical marijuana for many condition, but after the Thursday decision all kinds of use of marijuana, even if medical, will be perceived as illegal. States earlier considering it legal for certain recreational purposes can no longer continue doing so.

The Thursday announcement went public after being published in the Federal Register on Friday. It relaxes the rule for marijuana research so to make it convenient for institutions to grow marijuana for scientific study. A facility in Mississippi is only one to have license to grow Marijuana for research purpose, according to DEA.

"At this time, the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy," stated the DEA. Moreover, there is lack of evidence of consensus among qualified experts to support that marijuana is safe and effective.

According to the DEA, a Health and Human Services evaluation showed that there is no accepted medical use of Marijuana presently. There is lack of knowledge about chemistry of the drug. In addition, there is hardly any study done that has efficiently evaluated safety of Marijuana and was well controlled. Qualified experts do not support the use of the drug and also not much scientific evidences are available to prove Marijuana a safe and useful substance.

A report published in CNN informed, "Up until today, there has been only one federally approved source of research-grade medical marijuana, at the University of Mississippi. In a bit of seemingly positive news today, the DEA also announced it will now allow other places to apply for permission to do the same. The hope is that marijuana available for scientific study could grow in both amount and diversity."

Potential researchers typically go to the DEA first, as it grants the license to begin scientific research. Even if a license is granted, to study a Schedule I substance, institutions must have heavy-duty safes and high-grade security systems installed, which can be expensive. There is also the more subjective consideration of getting approval from your academic institution to do the research on a Schedule I status substance in the first place.

Then, after years of bureaucratic hurdles, it is the National Institute on Drug Abuse that has held the final key to the lock. Today, it is the biggest federal public funder of marijuana research and has been the sole supplier of the marijuana itself. Even if more medical marijuana will now be freed up for research, the institute will still have to approve any studies it funds.

According to a report in USA TODAY by Donna Leinwand Leger, "Marijuana advocates who hoped the cascade of states moving to legalize medical marijuana would soften the federal stance on the drug faced disappointment Thursday as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it will keep marijuana illegal for any purpose."

Marijuana will remain a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Substances in Schedule 1 are determined by the Food and Drug Administration to have no medical use. States that allow marijuana for medical use or legalize recreational use remain in defiance of federal law.

"At this time," the DEA concluded, "the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy."