@enigmatico you are not understanding, obviously.

it was never about science. aslinger wanted power, and brokering with racists got him it. he negociated with them to ban opiates and marijuana to harm chinese and mexican labor competitors in the USA. in exchange they funded campaigns to get the drug agency made so he could hold an office.

the science came later and was always secondary to the drug bans. i mean are you not at all aware of the marijuana propaganda? in the 60s they said you'd kill your neighbors and turn communist with just one joint. it wasn't for another 50+ years of research until they actually managed to find any negative indications. they tripped over hundreds of legitimate medicinal uses and kept censoring it because they violated the narrative.

whenever the science agrees with the narrative, sure, they hold it up and celebrate it. when it says ketamine is actually highly effective for palliating severe depression (c.f. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/living-well/ketamine-for-treatment-resistant-depression-what-you-need-to-know/ ) there's an infinity of "oh well you know but the misuse, and we just need more research guys" to ensure it stays banned.

its not until they can patent it that suddenly its no longer at risk of being misused somehow