Opponents of the Biden‑era push to reschedule cannabis have begun filing pre‑hearing briefs that outline the arguments they intend to make when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) holds a hearing on moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The hearing is slated to begin on June 29 and run through July 15.
Several states — Idaho, Indiana and Nebraska — submitted a joint brief asserting that marijuana remains a significant public‑health threat within their borders. They claim the drug contributes to psychiatric harm, rises in homelessness, traffic accidents, illegal drug trafficking and other crime. To support these claims, the states plan to call Deepak Cyril D’Souz, inaugural director of the Yale Center for the Science of Cannabis and Cannabinoids, as a witness. D’Souz is expected to discuss the abuse liability of cannabis, citing controlled human laboratory studies, brain‑imaging data and epidemiologic research. His testimony will cover five core public‑health concerns:
- Increased risk of serious mental illness, particularly psychotic disorders in susceptible individuals.
- Cannabis use disorder and addiction.
- Driving impairment.
- Adverse effects of prenatal and adolescent exposure on neurodevelopment.
- Acute and chronic deficits in learning, memory and other cognitive functions.
Alongside D’Souz, the states will hear from Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal, who argues that liberalizing marijuana laws has not eradicated the illicit market but instead expanded it. Honsal expects to describe how medical‑marijuana frameworks were exploited by criminal enterprises that operated without dosage limits, with some patients receiving recommendations for up to 99 plants each. He will testify that indoor grow facilities can produce thousands of pounds per year, enabling interstate and international distribution.
Another anti‑legalization group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), said it will call DEA pharmacologist Luli Akinfiresoye as a witness. Akinfiresoye previously contributed a report linking cannabis use to psychosis, depression and impaired cognition during a cancelled Biden‑era hearing. SAM expects her to testify that marijuana has a substantial potential for abuse, produces dependence, and leads to a wide range of health consequences affecting multiple organ systems and vulnerable populations. She will also address the drug’s impact on brain structure, including changes in gray and white matter, reduced hippocampal volume, lower IQ and impaired executive functioning, especially when use begins in adolescence.
SAM further plans to have former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Bertha Madras testify that marijuana meets none of the criteria for placement in any schedule other than Schedule I — arguing it has a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use and lacks adequate safety under medical supervision.
The National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) announced it will call former Department of Transportation official Patrice Kelly to discuss how rescheduling could affect transportation safety, particularly for truck drivers, pilots and other safety‑sensitive workers who remain subject to federal drug‑testing rules.
Despite requests from reform advocates, the DEA has declined to include supporters of rescheduling in the hearing. DEA Administrator Terrance Cole rejected a petition from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), stating that the organization failed to demonstrate how it would be adversely affected by moving cannabis to Schedule III. Cole noted that NORML’s own position — advocating complete removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act — does not constitute a direct adverse interest in the proposed rule change.
Transparency concerns have also arisen. DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius ruled that the hearing will not be livestreamed, televised or broadcast, requiring interested parties to attend in person in Arlington, Virginia. Marijuana Moment’s counsel urged the judge to revisit that decision, pointing out that a prior Biden‑era hearing on the same topic was livestreamed and that limited physical seating does not provide meaningful public access.
The rescheduling process is already producing tangible effects. An acting attorney‑general order issued in April reclassified state‑licensed medical cannabis and FDA‑approved marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III, granting patients certain protections under the CSA. The Congressional Research Service noted that this change permits end‑users to possess marijuana for medical use without a CSA‑compliant prescription. Federal agencies are adjusting accordingly: the ATF has updated its gun‑purchase form to distinguish recreational from medical use, the Treasury and IRS are preparing new tax guidance that would allow state‑licensed marijuana businesses to claim federal deductions previously barred by IRS Code 280E, and the DEA has opened a registration process for those businesses to access those benefits.
Nevertheless, the Department of Transportation maintains that state‑legal medical cannabis does not excuse a positive drug test for safety‑sensitive employees, and a congressional committee recently voted to block further federal steps toward rescheduling.
Read the new documents in the marijuana rescheduling hearing below: Here
