Health and Human Services US calls for Cannabis to be Rescheduled to CSA III

CannaBusiness
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Did you all see the breaking news?

HHS leader calls for cannabis to be rescheduled to CSA Schedule III in the US.

Bloomberg First to report!

Marketwatch

Marijuana Moment

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So, Health and Human Services (HHS) worked with the Department Of Justice (DOJ) to draft a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reschedule cannabis with Republicans (CSA) before the end of the year?

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If it happens this is really bad news.

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Ya good day for the canna stonks all around.

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Anyone that is not part of a huge mso or pharma company should be terrified if cannabis gets rescheduled to schedule 3. I for one want to keep it away from the feds as long as we can. Look at what happened when the states took over our industry, chads came in, the real ones got pushed out. A few of us still hanging on with our pipe dream but sched 3 will kill the last of us that have survived.

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Not sure this impacts REC people at all. Since those programs would be fully outside of medical usage.

There’s a push to not preempt state programs - meaning if states had a program for medical they could continue issuing licenses for them. Similar to how states currently handle board of pharmacy stuff and local pharmacy licensure.

Kind of awesome to see how much the conversation has changed. I started in SSDP back in 1996. Back then my congressperson wouldn’t even talk to me about cannabis. Now my congressman is a cosponsor on a legalization bill. :slight_smile:

In my life time!

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I hope your right. My stance is the feds are going to have massive pressure from pharma companies. Then will come the smear campaigns on how rec cannabis is dangerous and bla bla bla. Im not optimistic anytime the govt gets involved with anything cannabis. For me, keep it where its at or just decriminalize it.

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I think it’s a step towards Big Marijuana, portrayed as a “step in the right direction.” It’s not legalization or decriminalization, it’s just the scientific advisory branch of the government finally making it publicly known in a letter to the DEA that marijuana isn’t as harmful as we’ve been made to believe for the last century. They recommend lightening the restrictions on research which I think means pharma/tobacco/alcohol will continue to see if they can easily and profitably step into the industry, while possibly lobbying the government to set up new regulations in their favor (like MSOs are doing state by state with med/rec). Greed rules, and a lot of people are going to be throwing money into cannabis again very soon. Hopefully we can deschedule cannabis after further research proves it to not be a threat to our national health, and free market capitalism can do it’s thing to allow healthy competition among businesses and we as citizens can continue to use cannabis in our daily lives for another 5000+ years.

It’s not the best they could have done, but it is a big step that until now no federal agency really wanted to take.

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When there is a new law, we can read the original language. The rescheduling seems to leave a hazier forecast. Research, banking, and taxation benefits can most help the largest companies. Smaller companies getting relief, just less. Are there benefits or concerns for the patients around the rescheduling? Still can’t cross state lines? Still need to register with their state? Still functioning in a state-legal / federally-illegal system?

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Here is the update I got from Origins Council on the beginning of the hearings:

DEA Administrative Hearing on Cannabis Rescheduling

On June 29, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) convened the first day of its expedited administrative hearing to consider whether cannabis more broadly should be transferred from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The proceeding follows the Department of Justice’s April 2026 Final Order, which immediately reclassified state-licensed medical cannabis and FDA-approved cannabis products to Schedule III while initiating a separate rulemaking process to consider rescheduling all remaining cannabis.

The hearing, scheduled to conclude no later than July 15, will develop the administrative record on which the DEA Administrator will ultimately determine whether to adopt broader Schedule III rescheduling. While the Administrative Law Judge will oversee the proceedings and issue recommended findings, the final decision rests with the DEA Administrator.

The opening day focused primarily on testimony from the federal government, including presentations by the DEA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the scientific and legal basis for the proposed rescheduling. According to multiple reports, government witnesses emphasized evidence supporting cannabis’ accepted medical use and relative safety profile compared with certain other controlled substances, including alcohol and opioids.

The hearing has also drawn significant attention because the DEA limited formal party participation to seven designated non-federal participants, including a coalition of four states. No state-licensed cannabis businesses, patient advocacy organizations, or cannabis industry associations were selected as designated parties, prompting criticism from numerous stakeholders that the hearing record will not reflect the perspectives of many of those most directly affected by the proposed rule.

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 811 and DEA hearing regulations, formal hearing participants must qualify as an “interested person” who is “adversely affected or aggrieved” by the proposed rule.

The designated participants include:

  • National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA)

  • Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

  • Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)

  • States of Nebraska, Idaho, Indiana, and Louisiana (participating jointly)

  • DUID Victim Voices

  • Kenneth Finn, M.D.

  • Phillip A. Drum, Pharm.D.

The DEA’s hearing docket, procedural orders, and related materials are available through the agency’s Marijuana Rescheduling Regulatory Actions webpage.

Recent Press Coverage:

Origins Council and the National Craft Cannabis Coalition will continue to monitor developments throughout the federal rescheduling process and work with state and federal policymakers to ensure the interests of California’s small and independent cannabis sector are represented as implementation moves forward.

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