The hearing for expert testimony on moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law was canceled this week by DEA Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney, who was set to oversee the hearing, on account of a recent legal challenge, Marijuana Moment reports.
The challenge — filed earlier this month by the advocacy group Hemp for Victory and Village Farms International, Inc. — claimed the DEA’s opposition to rescheduling cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) makes the agency unfit to lead the rescheduling hearing and asks the judge to remove the DEA from the proceedings. The groups also described inappropriate communications between anti-rescheduling proponents and DEA officials, which Mulrooney called a “disturbing and embarrassing revelation.”
The judge, however, said the communications don’t disqualify the agency from its role in the hearing as the main “proponent” for rescheduling — a fact that the actual rescheduling proponents also highlighted as concerning — but he granted the groups’ request for leave to file an interlocutory appeal, the report said.
The hearing, which was scheduled to take place on January 21, will be delayed at least another three months. It’s also possible the hearing could be canceled indefinitely as the incoming administration’s priorities are unclear in regard to federal cannabis policy.
President Biden first initiated the review process for rescheduling cannabis in 2022.
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