DEA rescheduling hearing gets pushed back over witness list
A hearing including the testimony of witnesses won’t happen until January or February 2025.
The much-anticipated hearing for the rescheduling of cannabis has been delayed after the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued a preliminary order on Thursday finding fault with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) list of witnesses.
First reported by Marijuana Moment, Mulrooney noted that the DEA sent a poorly prepared list of witnesses approved to speak at the Dec. 2 hearing. The order said that the list the DEA provided only listed the people and organizations approved with one or two email addresses attached. The list did not come with addresses or phone numbers and also didn’t state whether the interested party would be adversely affected or aggrieved by the proposed regulation change.
As the record currently stands, although the Agency has fixed a December 2, 2024 hearing date, there is no way to discern from the present record which DP’s (designated participant) support or oppose the NPRM (notice of proposed rulemaking). To effectively preside over this hearing additional information must be furnished to the tribunal forthwith.
The hearing in December will still take place; however, no testimony or evidence will be presented at the hearing. According to the order, the next date could potentially happen in January or February 2025.
The order included a letter from the DEA’s Anne Milgram listing her approved list of witnesses:
- Village Farms International (VFF), Shane Pennington of Porter Wright
- National Cannabis Association (NCIA) Aaron Smith and Michelle Rutter Friberg
- American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care, Dr. Chad Kollas MD
- Cannabis Bioscience International Holdings, John Jones
- Hemp for Victory
- State of Connecticut Cannabis Ombudsman Erin Kirk
- Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, Ellen Brown
- Veterans Initiative 22, Shanetha Garulay
- The Doc App, dba My Florida Green, Nicholas Garulay, Jason Castro
- The Commonwealth Project, Katy Green
- Saint Michael’s College, Ari Kirshenbaum PhD
- National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association, Jo McGuire
- Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Patrick Philbin
- International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis, Roneet Lev
- Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators, David Evans Sr.
- Kenneth Finn MD
- National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy
- Phillip Drum, Pharm D
- State of Nebraska, Attorney General Mike Hilgers
- International Association of Chiefs of Police
- Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Natalie Hartenbaum
- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, Sue Thau
- Tennessee Bureau of Investigations
- National Sheriff’s Association
The participants were told that they needed to provide additional information by Nov. 12 including their names, addresses, phone numbers and the general mission of their practice or business.
Paul Armentano, deputy director for NORML, told Marijuana Moment that “it’s always been a possibility that this process could drag out longer than many either anticipated or would like. The administrative process is cumbersome and, as we have seen historically, administrative challenges to marijuana’s Schedule I status take years to resolve. That said, unlike in the past, it is our political opponents who are presented with the burden of arguing against the findings of both HHS and the FDA—which have determined that cannabis does not meet the scientific criteria of either a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance.”
