As the US cannabis industry eagerly awaits the judge’s final recommendation on whether to extend rescheduling, the next phase has already found itself caught in the weeds of bureaucracy.
On June 29, 2026, one of the most consequential hearings in the history of US cannabis policy, the crucial DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing that could determine whether adult-use cannabis joins state-licensed medical cannabis on Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, begins proceedings.
Trulieve’s uplisting to the NYSE, the first of its kind in US history, has undoubtedly caught the attention of every large North American cannabis operator.
Cannabis stocks have, for the last five years or so, represented one of, if not the worst-performing, niche categories on any exchange.
The critical June 29 administrative hearing, set to determine whether the US will extend rescheduling efforts to recreational cannabis, is now set to be a fiercely contested event.
For much of the past five years, the cannabis industry has been defined by disappointment.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to VER-01, the flagship full-spectrum cannabis drug from Munich-based Vertanical, putting it in prime position to become the first FDA-approved cannabis-derived medicine for pain, and only the second such approval since Epidiolex in 2018.
Cannabis Europa London returns on 26-27 May 2026, bringing together operators, investors, clinicians and policymakers from across the global cannabis industry for two days of main stage debate, exhibition, and networking.
Since President Trump issued an executive order to expedite cannabis rescheduling in December 2025, questions over the legal implications of this route have hung over the industry.
