| A list of 25 potential participants was issued by the DEA for a December hearing on marijuana rescheduling, according to a preliminary order issued Thursday and obtained by POLITICO from two different sources.
Elected state officials, scientists, lawyers, doctors, representatives from law enforcement groups and advocates from both the pro- and anti-legalization camps were included in the list for the Dec. 2 hearing, which will be presided over by Chief Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney II.
Being on this list does not ensure that they will give testimony at the hearing, however. Groups and individuals listed on the designated participant list still need to make their case to Mulrooney by Nov. 12, answering a series of questions including why they would be “adversely affected or aggrieved” by the proposed change in marijuana’s classification under federal law.
The context: President Joe Biden signed an executive order in October 2022 that instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to assess all available research and data on cannabis and determine if it should be moved to a different category under the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana — or cannabis with more than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC per dry weight — is a schedule I drug on the CSA, the same as heroin. Schedule I drugs are characterized as having no medical use and a high propensity for abuse.
In August 2023, HHS recommended that marijuana be moved to Schedule III — the same category as ketamine. Schedule III drugs are characterized as having some medical use and some potential for abuse.
But DEA will have the final say on rescheduing. The agency announced in August it would hold an Administrative Law Judge Review of the recommendation. ALJ reviews are uncommon, but a rescheduling of cannabis could be the biggest shift in American drug policy since the passage of the CSA more than five decades ago.
Participants are required to “come prepared with January-February 2025 availability dates regarding their counsel and any witnesses,” Mulrooney instructed in the preliminary order — implying that the December hearing is likely just the first step of a multi-month process.
Approved participants include Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Connecticut Cannabis Ombudsman Erin Gorman Kirk, Canadian cannabis company Village Farms International, cannabis trade group National Cannabis Industry Association and anti-legalization advocacy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
A number of researchers and medical professionals have been approved for the hearing, including Ari Kirshenbaum, a professor of psychology at St. Michael’s College, and Chad Kollas, a doctor at the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Multiple law enforcement groups have also been approved, including the National Sheriff’s Association, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
A few groups or individuals notably left out of the group include the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp and cannabis scientist Sue Sisley. |
