What's going on with the rescheduling hearings?

RESCHEDULING
Groups claims the DEA is opposed to rescheduling cannabis

What happened: The Drug Enforcement Administration’s hearings on whether to move cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III are set to kick off on January 21. 

But there’s been a lot of back-and-forth over who’s allowed to say what at the hearings. 

And now, some groups say the DEA — via its conduct leading up to proposing the rule and its improper contact with anti-cannabis group Smart Approaches to Marijuana — is itself opposed to rescheduling cannabis, and should be removed as a “proponent” of the rule. 

The DEA, as a proponent, is theoretically supposed to be defending the move. But the agency’s planned testimony suggests otherwise. 

Zoom in: In a Monday filing, cannabis firm Village Farms International and advocacy group Hemp for Victory said that the DEA is using its authority in the hearings to “thwart a proposal it vehemently opposes.”

The filing alleges that the DEA rejected Colorado’s participation in the hearings — the state is one of the oldest legal cannabis markets in the US — and that the DEA’s proposed testimony in the hearing “echoes anti-rescheduling talking points,” such as the notion that cannabis has a high potential for abuse, among other alleged conflicts of interest. 

What’s next: The judge overseeing the rescheduling proceedings, John Mulrooney, on Tuesday ordered the agency to respond to the allegations by next week. 

The fireworks have started and we haven’t heard any witness testimony yet. Buckle up. 

-JB

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“This is a demonstration, from my perspective, of the power of special interests and the money that they spread around to thwart health and safety of the public.”

Read more from Capitol News Illinois.

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And more: 

Longtime tobacco and cannabis sell-side analyst Owen Bennett said on LinkedIn that he’s leaving the investment bank Jefferies and taking a role as VP of Strategic Finance at Plxsur, a London-based nicotine vaping firm.  

Cannabis industry lawyer Neil Wilner is joining Vicente LLP as Counsel in the firm’s New York office, he said on LinkedIn. 

December was the highest-ever month for cannabis sales in Missouri at nearly $131 million, according to data compiled by Greenway Magazine.

Finance experts mixed on prospects of marijuana capital infusion post-rescheduling | MJBizDaily

Over 270 medical cannabis dispensaries could open in D.C. in the next year | The Outlaw Report