To the Editor:

Orrin Devinsky and Daniel Friedman’s Op-Ed essay, “We Need Proof on Marijuana” (Feb. 13), highlights a significant problem with current drug policy.

While there is no shortage of anecdotal evidence about the medical benefits of marijuana, federal barriers prevent doctors from scientifically studying marijuana. The fact that the Controlled Substances Act lists it as a Schedule 1 substance — like heroin or LSD — is part of the problem.

Researchers seeking access to it must jump through complicated bureaucratic hoops. In fact, a federal administrative law judge ruled in 2007 that researchers had been denied adequate access to marijuana.

That is part of the reason that I, joined by 17 of my House colleagues, have formally requested that President Obama reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to a less restrictive classification.