No organization in favor of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III will be allowed to speak at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) sham trial set for June 29th.
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The process seems rigged to stop the progress.
DEA Stacking Fake Marijuana Trial
According to the Cannabis Business Times, seven parties or groups will be allowed to testify. Not one of them is in favor of cannabis reform. The parties granted standing to make their anti-marijuana case are:
- Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)
- National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA)
- The states of Nebraska, Idaho, Indiana, and Louisiana
- Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
- DUID Victim Voices
- Kenneth Finn, M.D.
- Phillip A. Drum, Pharm.D.
Many of them are likely also happy that there are ongoing efforts to stop the process of rescheduling of marijuana to Schedule III via lawsuits.
The shame trial is set to begin on June 29th in the DEA headquarters, pictured above.
Many Pro-Cannabis Advocate Voices Silenced
Several pro-cannabis organizations tried and failed to achieve standing to make their case.
That includes Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR). They worked closely with the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH) and failed twice to get standing in 2024 and 2026. They were very eager to push Schedule III reform.
ATACH was prominent in the NJ cannabis legalization process and has remained active, speaking out against intoxicating/infused hemp.
It also includes the Drug Policy Alliance, which was also active in New Jersey’s legalization.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a notice of rulemaking to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, and speed the process up. It also invited organizations to apply for “standing” to be heard at the trial.
The DEA also opened up a portal for medical cannabis companies to apply to federally legal.
In the DEA trial under former President Joe Biden (D), the process also seemed rigged by the DEA. However, they did let a few pro-cannabis attorneys speak. That process was stopped by President Donald Trump (R), who started up the process again.
Notably, two of the pro-cannabis lawyers had New Jersey ties. They were attorney Nikolas Komyati of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and advocate and attorney Scheril Murray Powell, who was representing Veterans Initiative 22.
The DEA controls the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) Schedule or list of drugs. On the Schedule, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, and cocaine is a Schedule II drug.
Heady NJ and many grassroots, craft, and corporate cannabis advocates are for descheduling cannabis and taking it off the CSA.
The cannabis legalization process needs to be changed through Congressional legislation to avoid the DEA. Unfortunately, that is very difficult. Most Democratic and Republican Members of Congress are preoccupied with other issues.
DEA Marijuana Trial Show Won’t Be Broadcast
According to Marijuana Moment, Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Derek Julius will be running the show.
He wrote that the show trial will “not be televised, livestreamed, or broadcast in any way.”
“Permission is explicitly withheld from any attendee to use any video or audio recording device at any time while inside the courtroom or the adjoining lobby area.”
He said that “the scope of this hearing is not to discuss the rescheduling of medical products approved by the Food and Drug Administration that contain marijuana and of medical marijuana products already regulated by the states, which has already occurred.”
“The narrow issue in this matter is whether the remainder of marijuana, as defined in the CSA, should be transferred from its current place on Schedule I of the list of controlled substances to Schedule III.”
So medical cannabis is already Schedule III according to them, and the issue is the status of legal adult-use cannabis.
Adult-use Cannabis Reform Under Trump in Doubt
The DEA is playing its old tricks again, blocking the liberation of the sacred herb. However, their continuing opposition calls into question the Trump Administration’s ability to reform adult-use cannabis when it’s not a distraction from the Epstein Files or another scandal.
Trump’s base is divided between libertarians who like it as a measure of freedom and more traditional conservatives who hate progress on weed.
But his base is shrinking. At the same time, moderates, progressives, and socialists are enraged about a range of issues that may or may not include weed.
