An op-ed by Paul J. Larkin in The Regulatory Review explains how “regulation of marijuana has been based on a false distinction for almost a century.” Although components of the marijuana plant may be synthesized into real medications in the future — like the FDA-approved drug Marinol, synthetic THC — medical marijuana will never meet scientific criteria of modern medicine. Larkin concludes, “The real question is whether lawmakers should revise federal law to allow marijuana to be used for recreational purposes, just as alcohol and tobacco can be so used today. If Americans are to honestly debate marijuana use, the debate must be over its utility as a recreational drug, not as medicine, and who should regulate its potential uses—the FDA Commissioner or the U.S. Attorney General. The United States has followed the wrong approach to marijuana regulation for 80 years. It is time to get it right.” Read more.