Inside the DEA rescheduling hearings 👀

OH, DEA
What I heard inside the DEA rescheduling hearings 👀

Wednesday’s hearing on cannabis rescheduling at the Drug Enforcement Administration was not what I expected. 

I took the D.C. metro across the Potomac River to DEA headquarters in Northern Virginia hoping to learn something about the agency’s core defensive arguments and whether it seemed committed to defending a pro-rescheduling position. 

But Wednesday’s hearing left me with more questions than answers. 

What happened: Both witnesses were brought by the opposition and were questioned by Mr. Patrick Kenneally, a lawyer with experience working for anti-legalization nonprofits. The DEA asked (by my count) three questions in cross-examination. 

It’s possible, however, that Wednesday’s witnesses may have had something to do with it.

Laura Stack, founder of the Colorado-based nonprofit Johnny's Ambassadors, testified about her teenage son’s use of high-potency marijuana, his subsequent mental health struggles, and his death. 

Her testimony was deeply emotional and shone a light on many problems with the medical marijuana system (such as how easily 18-year-old high schoolers can obtain a medical marijuana card and then resell products to underage students). But as a personal narrative, there weren’t many opportunities for DEA cross-examination.

The other witness, Dr. Kenneth Finn, is a pain management specialist who worked for decades in Colorado. 

Two hours of detailed questioning by Kenneally raised questions about the effectiveness of marijuana for managing pain and drew correlations between marijuana use and a host of medical problems, including bipolar disorder, heart disease and opioid addiction. Finn’s testimony was detailed but most of the content he covered would not be new to people familiar with cannabis policy and medicine — or to DEA lawyers. 

Their response was simple: They got him to acknowledge that there may be some benefits to medical cannabis and that people would not stop breathing from cannabis use, and had him clearly reiterate that he had prescribed cannabis to patients for pain management in the past.

I’m curious whether the DEA’s simple approach is intended to cut through the noise and hammer home just the key facts central to their rescheduling argument, but I need to see more before I can be sure.

-Natalie Fertig

Virginia may have accidentally legalized the cannabis market a year early ⌚

The Virginia state's latest budget bill may have prematurely allowed cannabis sales on July 1 when most of the budget goes into effect. Lawmakers presented the legal change as taking effect in the middle of 2027, but they failed to specify that year in the language of the legislation, which could open the door for a legal challenge. 

Wyoming formally rejected federal rescheduling through administrative law ⚖️

Wyoming's Commissioner of Drugs and Substances Control issued a final decision keeping cannabis Schedule I under state law, concluding that the April 28 DOJ rescheduling rule conflicts with Wyoming law because the state has no medical cannabis program to mirror. The state legislature could change that, but so far Wyoming lawmakers have shown little to no appetite for legalization of any sort. 

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Florida judge dismissed Wrigley lawsuit 🧑‍⚖️

A Florida federal judge dismissed a $25 million securities fraud suit against William "Beau" Wrigley Jr. and the cannabis company he formerly led, ruling that the investors' claims fell outside the scope of federal securities law. The dismissal could still be appealed.

Trulieve spent $300K on federal lobbying in Q2 💰

Trulieve's Q2 2026 federal lobbying disclosure shows $300,000 in spending, up from $37,500 in Q1 2025 and $225,000 in Q2 2025. $TRLV ( ▼ 0.45% )

Legalization associated with a decline in personal bankruptcy 💰

A state-level panel study in Finance Research Letters found that recreational cannabis legalization is associated with roughly a 12% decline in personal bankruptcy filings, suggesting that eliminating criminal-justice costs like fines and legal fees may reduce the financial shocks that push vulnerable households into insolvency.

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