The U.S. government was to announce on Thursday that it will allow more research into marijuana but has rejected requests to relax the classification of the substance as a dangerous drug with no medical use, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The decision is the Drug Enforcement Administration's response to a 2011 petition by two former state governors who had urged federal agencies to re-classify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses, the two sources said on Wednesday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
The DEA declined to comment. But earlier on Wednesday, the agency had sent emails, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, to parties which had expressed an interest in the matter, saying it would be making "important announcements regarding marijuana related topics" on Thursday.