The DEA’s marijuana rescheduling hearing opens Monday, June 29, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET in Arlington, Virginia — and the single most important fact about it is who’s not in the room. All seven designated participants oppose moving marijuana to Schedule III, and not one industry voice made the cut. The hearing decides whether the federal government finishes reclassifying cannabis, and it runs through no later than July 15.
Here’s the quick refresher. Back in April, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order that immediately dropped FDA-approved and state-licensed medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. A separate order teed up this hearing to consider the broader, comprehensive move for marijuana generally. So the plant already has one foot in Schedule III — this proceeding decides how far the rest of it goes.
Three things happened this week that tell you exactly how this is being run. First, on June 27 the approved opponents filed prehearing briefs previewing their arguments — heavy on the neuroscience pitch that repeated THC exposure rewires the brain’s reward pathways and drives cannabis use disorder. Second, the DEA is resisting testimony from one of its own officials tied to a government report on cannabis harms. Third, the administrative law judge said he won’t reconsider allowing a livestream, so a hearing of enormous national interest stays effectively closed to the public.
What the marijuana rescheduling hearing decides
Put those together and you get a one-way mirror. The agency that’s nominally arguing for rescheduling stacked the witness table with prohibitionists, then tried to bench its own expert when his testimony got inconvenient, then locked the doors so the rest of us can’t watch. The DEA’s own press release confirms the schedule and the limited public access.
Why does a stacked panel matter if the outcome leans toward Schedule III anyway? Because the record made over these two weeks is what a federal appeals court reviews if anyone challenges the final rule. A one-sided evidentiary record is a litigation risk for everybody who actually wants Schedule III to stick. If the only sworn testimony on the table is from people who think cannabis belongs in Schedule I, that’s the factual foundation a reviewing court inherits.
For operators, the practical takeaway is simple: this is the moment that determines whether 280E tax relief becomes real and permanent. Schedule III status is the difference between deducting ordinary business expenses and paying an effective tax rate north of 70%. The Federal Register rule and the ALJ’s preliminary order are the documents to watch as transcripts drop.
Our advice on the show this week: don’t celebrate and don’t panic. Watch the transcript releases as they post on DEA.gov after the proceeding wraps, and pay attention to whether the final rule actually addresses the adult-use scope or stops at FDA-approved and state-licensed medical product. The fight didn’t end when medical cannabis moved in April. It just moved into a courtroom nobody’s allowed to film.
Related: the White House pushing Congress to save hemp. Related: the SAFE Banking Act’s return.
Watch the full episode
Tom Howard and Miggy break down all of this week’s stories on the Sunday, June 28, 2026 episode of Cannabis Legalization News:
Watch the latest CLN episode on YouTube →
