The Cannabis Rescheduling Hearing Ended. Only One Side Got to Argue.

The most consequential federal cannabis decision in a generation just cleared a procedural milestone almost nobody outside drug-policy circles noticed. From June 29 to July 15, DEA’s Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius presided over a multi-day hearing on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III — the classification that would, among other things, finally let cannabis businesses take normal tax deductions and open real research pathways closed to a Schedule I drug. FDA scientists and a New Hampshire physician testified in favor, citing cannabis as a lower-risk alternative for some chronic-pain patients currently on opioids; Smart Approaches to Marijuana and several state attorneys general testified against, citing psychosis and dependence risk. Marijuana Moment’s wrap-up reports Judge Julius laid out next steps: post-hearing briefs, capped at 50 pages, are due August 17, after which he’ll issue a recommendation to the DEA Administrator, who holds the actual final call.

Two details make this hearing worth a second look rather than a shrug. First, DEA had pledged transparency and a public livestream; neither reporting from Forbes nor Marijuana Moment’s coverage confirms one materialized, meaning most of the country following this fight closely has been reading secondhand accounts of a hearing about a decision that affects them. Second, DEA’s own announcement confirms that only parties who successfully petitioned to participate as formal “designated parties” got standing to cross-examine witnesses and shape the record — and reporting indicates that list skewed toward rescheduling opponents, meaning the procedural record Judge Julius will actually weigh may not reflect the full range of expert opinion that testified.

Rescheduling to Schedule III wouldn’t legalize cannabis federally, and it wouldn’t resolve the state-versus-federal patchwork that already governs most people’s actual access. What it would change, concretely: normal business tax treatment for state-licensed cannabis companies (currently barred under IRS code Section 280E because Schedule I substances can’t deduct ordinary expenses), and an easier regulatory path for federally sanctioned cannabis research — which, if you’ve followed our coverage of cannabis-psychosis and THC-potency findings this year, is exactly the kind of research the field badly needs more of, not less. August 17 is the next real date to watch. The recommendation after that has no announced timeline.