{"id":86201,"date":"2026-06-23T11:31:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/marijuana-moment-asks-dea-judge-to-allow-livestreaming-of-rescheduling-hearing-for-transparent-public-access\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T19:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T03:46:19","slug":"marijuana-moment-asks-dea-judge-to-allow-livestreaming-of-rescheduling-hearing-for-transparent-public-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/marijuana-moment-asks-dea-judge-to-allow-livestreaming-of-rescheduling-hearing-for-transparent-public-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana Moment Asks DEA Judge To Allow Livestreaming Of Rescheduling Hearing For Transparent Public Access"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Marijuana Moment is asking a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge to reconsider his decision to prohibit livestreaming of a hearing on the Trump administration\u2019s cannabis rescheduling proposal that is scheduled to begin next week<\/a> and that features only opponents of the reform as invited participants.<\/p>\n

Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julis last week issued a preliminary order laying out rules and timelines for the marijuana rescheduling proceedings\u2014simultaneously recognizing that \u201cnational public interest in this issue predicates towards a policy of transparency\u201d while also determining that \u201cthe hearing will not be televised, livestreamed, or broadcasted in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, people who wish to observe the historic cannabis reform process must attend in person in Arlington, Virginia under the judge\u2019s order.<\/p>\n

In a letter sent to Julius on Tuesday, Marijuana Moment counsel Joseph Bondy noted that DEA permitted livestreaming of an earlier, subsequently cancelled hearing process on the proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III that took place during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat prior determination was correct. The public-interest rationale for contemporaneous access has not diminished,\u201d Bondy wrote. \u201cIf DEA believes safety, witness-management, or operational concerns now require a more restrictive access regime, those concerns should be identified and addressed through narrow conditions rather than a categorical ban.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLimited physical seating in Arlington is not a meaningful substitute for livestreaming. Marijuana Moment, like many members of the press and public who follow federal cannabis policy nationally, cannot rely on a handful of available seats as a practical means of observing and reporting on the hearing. That is precisely why DEA\u2019s prior livestreaming directive mattered: it allowed those physically outside the courtroom to observe the proceeding without disrupting the hearing, burdening security, or conferring party status on anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a proceeding of this public significance, and in light of DEA\u2019s prior livestreaming directive, a public hearing is not meaningfully public if access depends on the happenstance of limited physical attendance,\u201d Marijuana Moment\u2019s attorney wrote to the DEA judge. \u201cDelayed access to transcripts is no substitute for contemporaneous observation. The press reports events as they unfold. The public evaluates government action in real time. And in a proceeding of this magnitude, transparency is not a courtesy. It is a safeguard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFor a substantial public audience seeking serious coverage of federal cannabis policy, Marijuana Moment is an important channel through which public understanding of this proceeding occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The letter makes clear that Marijuana Moment \u201cdoes not seek to participate as a party, present evidence, examine witnesses, submit proposed findings, or alter the merits schedule\u201d and \u201cseeks only contemporaneous public and press access to an administrative hearing of recognized national public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bondy requested a response from Julius by Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/strong>
\nMarijuana Moment\u2019s journalism is made possible by readers like you who value this work enough to support us with monthly pledges on Patreon<\/a>. If you rely on our reporting to stay informed about key cannabis developments, please help us keep doing this by becoming a sustaining subscriber today<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Backing us at the $25\/month level also gets you access to our Bill Tracker so you won\u2019t miss any important marijuana legislation in your state.<\/strong>
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the attorney is also representing a major cannabis reform organization that is asking DEA to\u00a0reconsider<\/a> the decision to exclude it from participating in the hearing as an interested party.<\/p>\n

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which represents the interests of people who use cannabis, filed the \u201cemergency request for reconsideration\u201d on Friday through Bondy, saying that the \u201cpublic interest will be substantially harmed if the record omits the consumer perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

DEA last week announced that it had selected participants for the marijuana rescheduling hearing\u2014and only opponents of the reform have been invited<\/a> to take part, some of whom have filed litigation in an attempt to block the reform. No reform supporters who expressed intent to participate were invited.<\/p>\n

\u201cNORML\u2019s exclusion, if not corrected immediately, will deprive NORML and the cannabis consumers it represents of meaningful participation in prehearing procedures, witness presentation, exhibit designation, cross-examination, legal briefing, and any other proceedings necessary to compile a complete record,\u201dBondy, who serves as chair of NORML\u2019s board of directors, wrote to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. \u201cThe prejudice is immediate. It cannot be cured after the hearing closes.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to several rejection letters Marijuana Moment has seen from cannabis reform supporters, DEA said they do not meet the definition of an \u201cinterested person\u201d to participate because they are not \u201cadversely affected or aggrieved by any rule or proposed rule issuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

NORML said in its request for reconsideration, however, that \u201cDEA\u2019s denial rests on a mistaken premise: that NORML is not adversely affected or aggrieved by the proposed rule because NORML supports removing marijuana from schedule I and recognizes that schedule III is preferable to schedule I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not NORML\u2019s position. NORML supports removal from schedule I. But NORML does not concede that schedule III is the correct final federal treatment for marijuana,\u201d Bondy wrote. \u201cNORML\u2019s position is that marijuana should be removed from the CSA schedules and regulated under a cannabis-specific federal framework directed to public health, consumer safety, product integrity, youth prevention, truthful labeling, testing, research access, impaired-driving policy, anti-diversion, state-regulated market realities, and illicit-market displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attorney wrote that the injury from Schedule III status for marijuana is \u201cnot mere ideological disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNORML\u2019s members would remain subject to federal controlled-substance status and the legal consequences that flow from it. Adult-use consumers who lawfully participate in state-regulated markets would remain outside coherent federal recognition,\u201d Bondy said. \u201cSchedule III would preserve federal illegality for cannabis activity outside federally authorized medical, research, or registrant channels. It would continue federal-state conflict, public confusion, stigma, collateral consequences, and consumer-safety harms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hearing<\/a> will begin on June 29 and is set to conclude no later than July 15.<\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April issued an order that immediately reclassified state-licensed medical cannabis<\/a>, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III.<\/p>\n

Under a separate order the acting attorney general signed, the upcoming hearing will consider more comprehensively moving marijuana to Schedule III.<\/p>\n

In order to be considered for participation in the hearing, parties needed to file requests articulating their interest in the proceeding, the objections or issues they wish to be heard on and their position on those issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the hearing is to \u2018receiv[e] factual evidence and expert opinion regarding\u2019 whether marijuana should be transferred to schedule III of the list of controlled substances,\u201d Blanche\u2019s initial notice, filed in April, said.<\/p>\n

The attorney general also selected an administrative law judge (ALJ) to oversee the proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ALJ\u2019s authorities include the power to hold conferences to simplify or determine the issues in the hearing or to consider other matters that may aid in the expeditious disposition of the hearing; require parties to state their position in writing; sign and issue subpoenas to compel the production of documents and materials to the extent necessary to conduct the hearing; examine witnesses and direct witnesses to testify; receive, rule on, exclude, or limit evidence; rule on procedural items; and take any action permitted by the presiding officer under DEA\u2019s hearing procedures and the\u201d Administrative Procedures Act, Blanche wrote.<\/p>\n

A prior hearing process on the marijuana rescheduling process that was initiated by the Biden administration stalled last year amid litigation over alleged improper communications and witness selection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current marijuana rescheduling process is being challenged with several lawsuits<\/a> that have been consolidated by a federal appeals court. Those pieces of litigation against the cannabis reform have been filed by state attorneys general<\/a>, marijuana legalization opponents<\/a> and a cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical corporation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the already-enacted rescheduling of state-licensed medical cannabis is already having broad impacts.<\/p>\n

The Congressional Research Service published a report on the current cannabis rescheduling move<\/a>\u00a0explaining that certified patients who possess medical marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries now have certain protections under Schedule III. \u201cThe order appears to authorize end users to possess marijuana for medical use without a CSA-compliant prescription,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has posted a\u00a0draft update to a gun purchase form to acknowledge the federally legal status of medical marijuana<\/a>\u00a0under rescheduling. The revised section in question\u00a0notably says that only \u201cuse or possession of marijuana for recreational purposes\u201d is federally prohibited, leaving out the prior form\u2019s mention of medical cannabis.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said they plan to\u00a0issue new tax guidance for the marijuana industry<\/a>\u00a0following rescheduling. The reform will benefit state-licensed marijuana businesses by allowing them to take federal tax deductions they\u2019re currently barred from under an IRS code known as 280E that doesn\u2019t apply to Schedule III substances.<\/p>\n

Even DEA, which has long opposed cannabis legalization and was accused of stalling the rescheduling process initiative by the Biden administration, has launched a registration process for state-legal marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0take advantage of federal benefits that come with the reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Department of Transportation, on the other hand, issued guidance saying that use of state-legal medical cannabis is still no excuse for a positive drug test by truck drivers<\/a>, pilots and other safety-sensitive workers.<\/p>\n

A congressional committee recently voted to\u00a0block federal officials from taking further steps to carry out cannabis rescheduling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read the letter<\/a> to the DEA judge from Marijuana Moment\u2019s attorney below:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Marijuana Moment Asks DEA Judge To Allow Livestreaming Of Rescheduling Hearing For Transparent Public Access<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Marijuana Moment is asking a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) judge to reconsider his decision to prohibit livestreaming of a hearing on the Trump administration\u2019s cannabis rescheduling proposal that is scheduled to begin next week and that features only opponents of the reform as invited participants. Chief Administrative Law Judge DerekContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86202,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86201\/revisions\/86202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}