Published July 2, 2026
Here’s What’s Actually Happening Inside the Room
After two years of delays, lawsuits, a stalled hearing, and one presidential executive order, the federal government is finally doing the thing the cannabis industry has been waiting on since 2024: holding a formal evidentiary hearing on whether marijuana belongs in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
The hearing kicked off Monday, June 29, at DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and it’s scheduled to wrap up no later than July 15 — with a short recess over the July 4th holiday. If you’ve been following the rescheduling saga since the Biden administration first proposed the move back in May 2024, you already know how many false starts we’ve endured to get here. This time, though, the process has a hard deadline, a new administrative law judge, and direct pressure from the White House to get it done.
Let’s break down what’s happened so far, why it matters, and what the industry should be watching over the next two weeks.
How We Got Here: An Executive Order Lit the Fuse
The original rescheduling proposal has been sitting in administrative limbo since early 2025, when the first hearing process collapsed amid procedural disputes and allegations of improper communications. Then the DEA’s only administrative law judge retired, and the whole thing looked dead in the water.
That changed on December 18, 2025, when President Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to complete the rescheduling rulemaking “in the most expeditious manner” allowed under federal law. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche followed through in April with a two-part move that reshaped the landscape overnight.
First, Blanche issued a final order that immediately placed two categories of cannabis into Schedule III: FDA-approved products containing marijuana, and marijuana regulated under a state-issued medical license. That order took effect April 28, 2026, and instantly gave state-legal medical cannabis a federal status it has never had in the modern era.
Second, he ordered a brand-new expedited hearing to consider the bigger question — whether all marijuana should move from Schedule I to Schedule III. That’s the hearing happening right now.
What’s Happening Inside the Hearing
Presiding over the proceedings is Derek C. Julius, the DEA’s new chief administrative law judge. The government — yes, the DEA itself is arguing in favor of rescheduling here — opened with a clear framing: this hearing is not about recreational use, and it’s not about legalization. It’s about a narrow legal question: does marijuana have a currently accepted medical use (CAMU)? If the answer is yes for even one condition, marijuana legally cannot remain in Schedule I.
The government is leaning on the 2023 determination from the Department of Health and Human Services, which found accepted medical use for three conditions: anorexia related to a medical condition, chemotherapy-style nausea and vomiting, and pain.
To make that case, the DEA called two witnesses. The first, Dr. Dominic Chiapperino, directs the FDA’s controlled substance staff and testified about the scientific review that led the agency to recommend Schedule III — including findings that marijuana carries lower abuse potential than Schedule I and II drugs. The second, Dr. Corey Burchman, is a New Hampshire anesthesiologist and pain specialist with decades of clinical experience, including work transitioning chronic pain patients away from opioids and toward medical cannabis.
The Elephant in the Room: Nobody Pro-Cannabis Got a Seat
Here’s the part generating real friction in the industry. The DEA selected seven outside participants for the hearing — and every single one opposes rescheduling. Groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana get to cross-examine the government’s witnesses, while NORML, the National Cannabis Industry Association, and other reform advocates were shut out entirely.
NORML board chair Joseph Bondy has argued that Schedule III is at best an interim fix, not a destination, and that cannabis should come out of the Controlled Substances Act altogether. NCIA leadership called the exclusion of state-licensed operators a missed opportunity to represent the businesses most affected by the outcome.
Not everyone sees the lopsided witness list as a disaster, though. Some advocates argue that with the scientific record already strongly favoring rescheduling, limiting testimony to opponents may actually speed things up — the prohibitionists get their day in court, the record gets built, and the rule moves forward on a defensible foundation.
Why This Matters for the Industry (Hint: It’s the Taxes)
For operators, the stakes are hard to overstate. Schedule I status is the reason cannabis businesses are crushed by Section 280E of the tax code, which blocks ordinary business deductions for companies trafficking in Schedule I or II substances. A full move to Schedule III would lift that burden for the adult-use industry, freeing up capital that currently evaporates into effective tax rates that can exceed 70 percent.
Rescheduling would also dramatically expand the pathway for clinical research — one of the stated goals of the December executive order — and it has already triggered ripple effects. The ATF has drafted updates to federal gun purchase forms reflecting medical marijuana’s new status, and the Treasury Department and IRS have said new tax guidance for the industry is coming.
The Fight Isn’t Over When the Hearing Ends
Keep one eye on the courts. The April order that fast-tracked medical cannabis into Schedule III is already being challenged before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by a coalition that includes state attorneys general and legalization opponents. Critics argue the order created a “hybrid” schedule Congress never authorized and skipped required rulemaking procedures. If a court stays or strikes down that order, the ground could shift again quickly.
Still, momentum matters, and right now the momentum is unmistakable. A hearing that stalled for over a year is suddenly running on a two-week clock with the full weight of a presidential directive behind it. Whatever your feelings about how the process has been structured, the next two weeks in Arlington may end up being the most consequential stretch for federal cannabis policy in half a century.
Federal cannabis policy is moving faster right now than it has in fifty years — and the next headline could drop any day. From rescheduling updates and state-by-state legalization news to industry shakeups and market analysis, we cover it as it breaks.
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