"There was no discussion of the lasting harms of marijuana criminalization itself—the arrests, convictions, incarceration and collateral consequences that continue to affect individuals, families and communities."
By Cat Packer, Drug Policy Alliance
I arrived at DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia at 7:15 a.m. Monday to attend the DEA's hearing on shifting marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. My organization, the Drug Policy Alliance, requested to participate but was rejected, as were NORML, Marijuana Policy Project, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, Latino Cannabis Alliance, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, the Parabola Center for Law & Policy, Supernova Women and Students for Sensible Drug Policy. DEA instead named seven official participants—all opposed to rescheduling.
Proceedings began at 9 a.m., with the public let in a few at a time, first-come, first-served. There was no livestream, video or audio feed. I attended the first two days but was turned away on day three after learning, without prior notice, that the administrative law judge had cut off public entry after 8:50 a.m.
DEA repeatedly framed the hearing as "regulation, not legalization." Three things stood out to me. First, only DEA and rescheduling opponents can present witnesses, submit evidence and cross-examine experts, narrowing the record the judge will use to recommend action. FDA's Dr. Dominic Chiapperino, Director of the Controlled Substances Section, addressed the scientific review behind the rescheduling recommendation; Dr. Corey Burchman discussed treating patients who moved from opioids to cannabis. Absent entirely: racial disparities in enforcement, the Nixon-era Shafer Commission's anti-criminalization findings, and lessons from state legalization.
Second, the CSA doesn't separate "medical" from "recreational" marijuana—it regulates "marihuana" as one substance. DEA already finalized, separately, moving FDA-approved marijuana medicines and state-licensed medical marijuana into Schedule III earlier this year; that's final and not part of this hearing.
Third, this hearing isn't the final word. The judge will issue a recommendation, DEA will decide on a final rule, and courts will likely review it. Rescheduling won't end federal criminalization or resolve state-federal conflicts. I believe Congress must act—through bills like the MORE Act and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act—to address incarceration, expungement and comprehensive regulation.
Cat Packer directs drug markets & legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance and is a distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. She led the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation from 2017 to 2022.
