DEA to hold hearing on plan to loosen federal marijuana restrictions

The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to hold a formal hearing next week on its plan to reschedule marijuana at the federal level.

The proposal is to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III, where it would join ketamine and anabolic steroids.

In May, the Justice Department announced that it had submitted a rule that would ease restrictions on cannabis, but the change falls short of the full legalization or decriminalization sought by some advocates. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the Federal Register, kicking off a formal rulemaking process to consider moving marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. News of the move first broke in late April.

A formal hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 2 in the North Courtroom at DEA Headquarters, 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA.

The preliminary hearing will serve as a procedural day to address legal and logistical issues and discuss future dates for the evidentiary hearing on the merits, according to the DEA. No witness testimony is expected.

Marijuana has been an illegal Schedule I drug since 1970, but re-scheduling it to be a Schedule III drug could have a limited effect on cannabis consumers, although some cannabis businesses have said the move will allow them to deduct more business expenses, which could result in lower prices, but is not guaranteed.

President Joe Biden had previously asked Garland and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to launch a scientific review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law in 2022. Health and Human Services recommended that DEA reschedule marijuana to Schedule III in 2023.

For decades, cannabis has been classified as a Schedule I drug, a class defined as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy and methaqualone, the hypnotic sedative sold under the brand name Quaalude before it was discontinued in the 1980s.

Under the plan, cannabis would be reclassified as a Schedule III drug, defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Other Schedule III drugs include products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit, ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.