Appeals court keeps medical cannabis in Schedule III

DENIED
Appeals court keeps medical cannabis in Schedule III while lawsuits play out

What happened: The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday refused to pause the Justice Department's April order moving state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved cannabis drugs from Schedule I to Schedule III.

A drug testing trade association and pharma company MMJ International, which are challenging the order alongside prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, had asked the court to freeze it while the case proceeds.

The three-judge panel disposed of the request in a single sentence.

What they're saying: "Petitioners have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review," the court wrote.

Why it matters: The April order was always the narrow piece of rescheduling. The bigger fight, moving all cannabis to Schedule III, is still sitting with the DEA judge.

The challengers argue Attorney General Todd Blanche used a treaty loophole in the Controlled Substances Act to skip HHS review and public comment, and that the D.C. Circuit's own precedent, going back to a 1977 NORML case, says he can't do that.

If the court had granted a stay, it would have meant the judges think that argument is likely to win. Denying one only means the challengers flunked one of the four tests for emergency relief. The court didn't say which.

The panel also turned away two medical cannabis companies, MedPharma Iowa and TriMountain Pure, that wanted to join the case on the government's side. DOJ has it covered, the court said. They'll file friend-of-the-court briefs instead.

For operators, the upshot is that the 280E relief tied to state medical licenses stays in place while the case plays out.

What's next: The consolidated cases move to full briefing. The court gave the parties 30 days to propose a format and warned it "looks with extreme disfavor on repetitious submissions."

Marijuana Moment linked the full ruling.

"Marijuana is a gateway drug, and it causes other problems down the road," said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), pulling drug policy insight from the… 1980s as he spoke to Marijuana Moment, just as Republican President Donald Trump's administration continues to push cannabis rescheduling.

LIT ALERTS
East Coast markets just hit a historic breaking point

For the first time since Lit Alerts’ tracking began, East Coast states in the tracker simultaneously crashed to all-time flower price lows. New York ($36.94), New Jersey ($35.74), Maryland ($32.62), Connecticut ($31.25), and Massachusetts ($22.72) — all hitting the floor in September 2026.

New Jersey's $1.00 plunge in a single month signals what's coming: wholesale saturation from expanded cultivation footprints is colliding with brutal retail competition. The gap between the highest and lowest market is now $14.22, and compressing.

Over 13 months, New Jersey and Connecticut have shed nearly 20% of retail value. Even mature Massachusetts — the regional benchmark — just broke below $23.

For brands and retailers, the message is blunt: margin buffers are evaporating. Cost controls and brand storytelling aren't optional anymore — they’re required for survival.

See the full September East Coast 8th Index on Lit Alerts »

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The War on Drugs Never Left the Schoolhouse | The Parabola Papers