The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled an official date for the highly anticipated public hearing on cannabis rescheduling, starting with a presentation from the government just a day after President Elect Donald Trump is sworn in.
Following the preliminary hearing on December 02, designed purely to pin down the schedules of all participants for future hearings, the DEA has now published a prehearing ruling laying out a concrete schedule for the hearings to take place in earnest.
The hearings are set to commence on January 21, 2025, a day after the inauguration of Trump.
While his picks for the top government positions set to have considerable influence over the rescheduling process are still in a state of flux, seeing two nominees already withdraw themselves from the running within days, much of the cabinet will not be in place during the start of the process, as they’ll need to be confirmed by the Senate over the following weeks.
However, the hearings are set to run until March 06, 2025. As such, it is unclear just how much influence the new cabinet will have over the process.
According to the prehearing document, each participant will have 90 minutes to present their case, with an opportunity for cross-examination limited to 20 minutes per opposing party. Witnesses may testify via video if requested by December 13, 2024.
The hearing will be held at the DEA Hearing Facility in Arlington, Virginia, with proceedings taking place Tuesday through Thursday of each week. The schedule includes:
- January 21: Government presentation
- January 22-23: Presentations from Hemp for Victory, Cannabis Bioscience International Holdings, and others
- January 28-30: Presentations from Connecticut Office of the Cannabis Ombudsman, National Cannabis Industry Association, and others
- February 4-6: Presentations from The Commonwealth Project, Veterans Initiative 22, and others
- February 18-20: Presentations from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and others
- February 25-27: Presentations from Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, and others
- March 4-6: Presentations from Dr. Kenneth Finn, National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, and others
Despite receiving over 43,000 public comments during the 60-day comment period, these comments are unlikely to be received into the record. According to the Prehearing Ruling, public comments are not admissible evidence at a hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
While the hearing is scheduled to conclude on March 6, 2025, a final decision on cannabis rescheduling is not expected until later in the year.
Meanwhile, controversy surrounding the DEA’s neutrality on the issue, alongside the parties selected to give evidence, is continuing to complicate the process.
A coalition of health professionals, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR), has called on the DEA to halt upcoming hearings in a federal court petition challenging the DEA’s exclusion of their participation, citing alleged procedural flaws and lack of transparency in the agency’s witness selection process.
D4DPR argues that the DEA’s decision to bar their involvement harms the rulemaking process and undermines public trust.
The group contends that its unique medical expertise is vital to evaluating the implications of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. The exclusion, they claim, violates their rights as an interested party and could negatively affect medical marijuana recommendations and prescriptions.
