A public hearing on the Trump administration's proposal to reclassify marijuana under federal law is underway this month, and a new poll finds most cannabis users are skeptical the change will be finalized before year's end.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April signed an order immediately shifting state-licensed medical marijuana and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
A separate order from Blanche launched the current hearing, which is examining a broader move of marijuana to Schedule III. According to the new survey from cannabis telehealth company NuggMD, most consumers doubt that broader shift will be completed this year.
Participants were told: "In April, medical cannabis was partially rescheduled, moved to a less-restricted category. Now, the federal government is weighing whether to extend that change to all other cannabis, which remained federally prohibited," and then asked whether they expect that to happen by year's end.
52.5 percent said no, while 47.5 percent said yes. The poll surveyed 1,063 cannabis consumers in state-legal markets from July 2-6, with a margin of error of +/- 3.01 percentage points. Of 1,063 respondents, 558 answered no and 505 answered yes.
The DEA-supervised hearing, led by a Drug Enforcement Administration judge, is scheduled to conclude by July 15. It remains unclear how long after that the judge will submit a recommendation, what that recommendation will be, or how quickly the DEA administrator will render a final decision.
NuggMD CEO Charlie Russell said in an interview, "Like many, I had doubts when the DEA announced the participants, but early coverage is largely positive, and the testimony the DEA put on record has been more convincing than I think many consumers and stakeholders expected." He noted the agency's hearings have focused on marijuana's medical benefits and its relative safety compared to alcohol and other substances, despite excluding reform advocates from testifying. "Early reports have increased my confidence that the hearing will result in full rescheduling," he added.
Separately, requests urging DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius and DEA Administrator Terrance Cole to reverse a ban on public livestreaming of the hearing were sent by journalists, later joined by a member of Congress. The agency has kept the streaming prohibition in place.
