Last week →  The rescheduling hearing opens this morning

The rescheduling record is half-built — and DOJ is defending it.

Week one of the DEA's Schedule III hearing produced the sharpest exchange yet over marijuana's "currently accepted medical use." FDA's Dominic Chiapperino presented the medical-benefit and relative-safety case, opponents bore down on the agency's revised two-factor test, and an FDA official acknowledged cannabis could not have passed the prior five-factor version. Outside the hearing room, the administration went on offense: DOJ told a federal court that the drug-testing group and pharmaceutical company seeking to pause rescheduling have "pocketbook interests served by keeping all marijuana in schedule I," and two medical cannabis companies moved to intervene in the anti-rescheduling lawsuits. Testimony reconvenes this morning with Smart Approaches to Marijuana presenting, runs through July 14, and the hearing closes no later than July 15. Nothing is decided — but the shape of the record, and who is defending it, is now clear. Operators should keep §280E reserves intact until a ruling lands.

Why it matters: The fight over the FDA's revised "currently accepted medical use" test is the legal hinge of the proceeding — if the two-factor analysis survives, the medical-value finding underpinning Schedule III stands; if it is discredited, the recommendation wobbles. This is the record a final rule, and the inevitable appeals, will rest on. Keep §280E reserves intact.

The hearing opened June 29 with FDA's Dominic Chiapperino, director of controlled substance staff at CDER, testifying to marijuana's medical benefits and relative safety. On day two, opponents pressed him on the revised two-factor test, and the FDA official acknowledged cannabis could not have passed the prior five-factor version. Smart Approaches to Marijuana presents July 6; testimony runs through July 14, closing by July 15.

Why it matters: The federal government is now actively defending its own rescheduling move in court — a materially stronger posture than passive rulemaking. If the pause motions fail, the administrative track keeps its timeline; the intervening companies also give the industry standing inside litigation it could previously only watch.

DOJ opposed a drug-testing industry group and a pharmaceutical company's motion to pause rescheduling, writing that they have "pocketbook interests served by keeping all marijuana in schedule I" and that Congress "did not enact the CSA to provide drug screeners with a permanent source of income for testing marijuana." Days earlier, two medical cannabis companies moved to intervene, citing "direct economic, regulatory and operational harm" if litigation blocks reform.

Why it matters: Schedule III would move marijuana outside the standard federal testing panels DOT-regulated employers rely on. If agencies don't act, carriers, logistics firms, and any operator with CDL drivers face a gap between federal testing authority and workplace policy. Expect regulatory patches — and write employment policies that don't depend on the current panel.

The American Trucking Associations and allied transportation and safety groups sent federal officials a letter citing "serious safety concerns" with the rescheduling move, asking them to "preserve employers' ability to test safety-sensitive transportation workers for marijuana" — truck drivers and pilots chief among them.

Why it matters: Not a cannabinoid — but 7-OH products sit on the same smoke-shop and hemp-retail shelves as Delta-8 and THCA. Retailers carrying 7-OH gummies or tablets should plan an inventory exit now, and note the pattern: regulators are increasingly bundling intoxicating hemp and kratom products in the same enforcement frame.

DEA announced July 1 it will temporarily place 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and three related substances into Schedule I, with Federal Register notices filed for public inspection. The move landed the same week North Carolina's Senate paired hemp THC and kratom restrictions in one bill.

Why it matters: Illinois is the largest market yet to pair dispensary-friendly reforms with hard restrictions on intoxicating hemp. Licensed operators gain drive-thru, curbside, and doubled possession limits; hemp beverage and gummy sellers lose shelf space. Multistate hemp brands should rescope Illinois distribution against the new Hemp Act before restocking.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the cannabis omnibus at a dispensary ceremony this week. The law doubles legal possession limits, allows drive-thru and curbside pickup, significantly restricts hemp THC products, and adjusts operating rules for licensed businesses. The Illinois Department of Agriculture published a bulletin on the new Hemp Act; some provisions phase in — details still emerging.

Why it matters: Tennessee had one of the South's most open hemp THC retail markets; the restrictions are now live, not pending. Retailers and distributors shipping into Tennessee should verify product eligibility immediately. The legalization counter-bill faces long odds in the GOP supermajority — plan to the restrictions, not the response.

New state restrictions on hemp-derived THC products took effect July 1. Democratic lawmakers responded by filing the Pot for Potholes Act, which would legalize and tax marijuana to fund road repair.

Why it matters: North Carolina is one of the country's biggest THCA flower markets, and the chambers are on divergent paths: the House age-gates hemp THC at 21+; the Senate restricts the products themselves and adds kratom. The conference outcome decides whether NC hemp retail survives roughly intact or shrinks sharply. Operators should model both.

The Senate passed its bill this week, going further than the House version approved earlier. No final law yet — the chambers must reconcile the two approaches before anything reaches the governor. Effective dates depend on the conference; details still emerging.

Why it matters: Georgia's program has been among the South's most restrictive; the expansion meaningfully widens the addressable patient base. One licensed operator projects registrations could triple within a year — treat that as an industry estimate, not state data.

The expansion took effect July 1, adding qualifying conditions, permitting vaping of flower, and changing THC potency limits for the licensed medical program.

Why it matters: Nebraska's program moved from contested rulemaking to approved regulations in 48 hours — following June's first cultivation approval, the market now has a real operational runway. Prospective applicants get regulatory certainty; manufacturers should watch for application windows.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers signed off on the medical cannabis regulations June 30 despite his stated personal opposition, and Gov. Jim Pillen approved them July 1.

Why it matters: This is the final legal hurdle before Europe's second-largest country stands up a permanent medical cannabis framework. Suppliers should note the sequence that remains — HAS coverage recommendation, ANSM registration, pricing negotiations — with first reimbursed prescriptions realistically in 2027. Position for registration now; revenue later.

The decree governing reimbursement of cannabis-based medicines was submitted to the Conseil d'État on July 2 for legal review — the last step before publication in the Journal Officiel. The framework covers five last-resort conditions, including treatment-resistant epilepsy, refractory neuropathic pain, and palliative care.

Why it matters: A government law-reform body translating a referendum into concrete legislative options is the step that separates symbolic votes from actual market change. Caribbean operators and advisers should read the options paper — it frames what Cayman lawmakers can plausibly enact.

The Cayman Islands Law Reform Commission published a report laying out options for marijuana reform following voters' approval of a decriminalization referendum.

Two ways to get answers — instant AI for interpretation questions, or a real attorney for matters that need counsel.

With testimony resuming this morning, the most useful operator read is our breakdown of what the hearing decides — the format, the participants, and what a Schedule III ruling would and would not change for §280E and DEA registration. Read the summary →