The highly anticipated audience of cannabis rescheduling was delayed after Chief Administrative Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued a preliminary order on Thursday declaring the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) witness list to be repealed.

First reported by Marijuana momentMulrooney stressed that the DEA sent a poorly prepared message list of witnesses authorized to speak at the December 2 hearing. The order said the list provided by the DEA only listed approved individuals and organizations with one or two email addresses attached. The list did not contain addresses or telephone numbers, nor did it indicate whether the interested party would be harmed or harmed by the proposed regulatory change.

As the case currently stands, although the Agency has set a hearing date of December 2, 2024, there is no way to discern from the current record which DPs (designated participants) support or oppose to the NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking). To effectively preside over this hearing, additional information must be provided to the court immediately.

The December hearing will still take place; however, no testimony or evidence will be presented at the hearing. According to the order, the next date could potentially be in January or February 2025.

The order included a letter from Anne Milgram of the DEA 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
• Erin Kirk, State of Connecticut Cannabis Ombudsman
• Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Council, 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 College, Ari Kirshenbaum PhD
• National Drug and Alcohol Testing Association, Jo McGuire
• Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Patrick Philbin
• International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis, Roneet Lev
• Cannabis Industry Victims Educate 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 Drug Coalitions of America, Sue Thau
• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• National Sheriffs Association

Participants were told they needed to provide additional information by November 12, including their names, addresses, phone numbers and the general mission of their practice or business.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, told Marijuana Moment that “it was always possible that this process would drag on longer than many anticipated or desired. The administrative process is cumbersome and, as we have seen historically, administrative challenges to the Schedule I status of marijuana take years to resolve. That said, unlike in the past, it is our political opponents who have the burden of challenging the findings of HHS and FDA, which have determined that cannabis does not meet the scientific criteria for Schedule I or Schedule II . controlled substance. »

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