{"id":2087,"date":"2026-07-31T20:12:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2087"},"modified":"2026-07-31T20:12:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:12:43","slug":"the-dea-makes-the-case-to-take-it-easy-on-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2087","title":{"rendered":"The DEA Makes the Case to Take It Easy on Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Drug Enforcement Administration made the case for the first time that marijuana has a medical use, a stark reversal that aligns with the view of most Americans and could reshape the legal landscape for the cannabis industry.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2085\">Adviser on Trump\u2019s World Cup Task Force Resigns Over FIFA Privatization Plan<\/a><\/p><p>In a modest courtroom in Virginia this month, lawyers for the DEA called two witnesses in a renewed Trump administration push to remove weed from being included among the nation\u2019s most heavily regulated drugs. Previously, the agency has sought to keep the plant listed in federal law alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy, as it has been since 1970.<\/p>\n<p>The DEA approach at the regulatory hearing came across as less than vigorous. A floor below, visitors to a DEA museum can see exhibits touting operations involving hippie head shops, South American drug kingpins and plane-smuggled drug bales that floated in the ocean.<\/p><p>But it was a key step on the federal government\u2019s long, strange trip to catch up with the vast majority of states where millions of people already use the plant and bring some clarity to the nation\u2019s patchwork regulatory approach to cannabis.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<span>Trending<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Election 2026 Michigan Abdul El-Sayed\" class=\"wp-image-2070\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1f2ddf7a4533d6e0aeae92be6d7a8240-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1f2ddf7a4533d6e0aeae92be6d7a8240-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1f2ddf7a4533d6e0aeae92be6d7a8240-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1f2ddf7a4533d6e0aeae92be6d7a8240.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n<u>Dana Milbank:<\/u> I Was Prepared to Dislike Abdul El-Sayed. Then I Came to Michigan and Spoke to Him.\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Voters depart a polling place in Kennesaw, GA.\" class=\"wp-image-1446\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e1814b8fd9875795879aa6ab01c7789e.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Democrats Mobilize Over Fears Trump Will Deploy Troops to Polls\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sen. Bernie Moreno\" class=\"wp-image-2084\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/594f186ac24f74d1b98860e1f3c48b46-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/594f186ac24f74d1b98860e1f3c48b46-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/594f186ac24f74d1b98860e1f3c48b46-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/594f186ac24f74d1b98860e1f3c48b46.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Sen. Bernie Moreno Doesn\u2019t \u2018Know\u2019 if Embattled Rep. Max Miller Should Stay on Ballot\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"DC: Dr. Anthony Fauci testifying before the Senate Homeland\" class=\"wp-image-1957\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ba72971b09b7937db30c60e1faaa5e8f-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ba72971b09b7937db30c60e1faaa5e8f-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ba72971b09b7937db30c60e1faaa5e8f-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ba72971b09b7937db30c60e1faaa5e8f.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Redacted Fauci Diary Entries Depict Him Personally Helping Katie Miller\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Opposing that were lawyers for a mix of activists against driving under the influence of drugs, law enforcement, conservative states and the business that arguably stands to lose the most: employment drug-screening clinics.<\/p><p>This year the Trump administration has taken a bifurcated approach to medical and recreational uses that\u2019s already has invited legal challenges, as billions of dollars in extra costs and taxes for the weed industry hang in the balance.<\/p><p>In April, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an <span><u>order<\/u><\/span> shifting medical marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration or regulated by states from a plainly illegal Schedule I drug \u2014 meaning no medical use and a high potential for abuse \u2014 to a Schedule III drug equivalent to prescription-only Tylenol with codeine.<\/p><p>But that left out the rest of legally defined marijuana. And a DEA administrative judge will soon recommend whether recreational weed will get knocked down to Schedule III as well.<\/p>\n<p>The approach left the judge to explore the kind of awkwardly constructed question more expected during stoner philosophy musings: What\u2019s the medical value of nonmedical marijuana?<\/p><p>\u201cIt is a deeply confusing question. It\u2019s a shit show. None of this makes sense,\u201d said Emily Dufton, a historian and author of \u201cGrass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America,\u201d who attended the hearings.<\/p><p>To reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, and to protect it from legal challenges, the government first must go through a regulatory process, including a hearing.<\/p><p>On one side were DEA lawyers, who made the case that all marijuana that isn\u2019t hemp \u2014 even nonmedical \u2014 should be no longer be classified as a Schedule I drug because it has \u201ccurrently accepted medical use.\u201d To change it to a Schedule III drug, they\u2019d also need to address the potential for abuse and addiction.<\/p><p>They <span><u>called<\/u><\/span> <span><u>two<\/u><\/span> witnesses: An FDA official to speak about the agency\u2019s determination in 2023 that cannabis has a currently accepted medical use, and a pain management doctor with clinical experience in the use of medical marijuana.<\/p><p>The judge, Derek C. Julius, who spent most of his career as a Justice Department immigration lawyer and was made an <span><u>immigration judge<\/u><\/span> two years ago, allowed testimony from 13 witnesses who opposed the rescheduling.<\/p>\n<p>The final day in court, July 15, featured the naysayers\u2019 last two witnesses. Yale University psychiatry professor Deepak D\u2019Souza tuned in from an office computer to warn that \u201cpeople who are at risk for mental illness are at greater risk using cannabis,\u201d calling marijuana is a \u201charbinger for psychosis\u201d \u2014 especially now that strains are so much stronger than the free-loving 1960s.<\/p><p>Sheriff William F. Honsal III showed up in his neatly pressed, forest green uniform to discuss the way Northern California\u2019s Humboldt County \u2014 part of the famed \u201cEmerald Triangle\u201d that once produced the bulk of the nation\u2019s illegal marijuana \u2014 still struggles to free itself from the grasp of the Bulgarian mob, Chinese criminal organizations and Mexican drug cartels.<\/p><p>\u201cWe still have a lot of illicit grows,\u201d he testified. \u201cThe track-and-trace system has failed \u2026 they are diverting legal marijuana to these illegal channels.\u201d<\/p><p>When the sheriff wrapped up two hours of testimony on the many negative effects of partial legalization fueling crime, DEA lawyers didn\u2019t address the substance of his testimony, asking only whether his jurisdiction included the four states that had filed challenges. Those monitoring the case noted that DEA lawyers did not bother to cross-examine several opposing witnesses.<\/p><p>Julius gave his \u201csolemn promise\u201d that Wednesday that he would fairly consider the DEA and critics\u2019 arguments about the medical nature of cannabis before making a ruling that would merely serve as a recommendation to DEA head Terry Cole, who will decide whether to move marijuana down to a Schedule III drug.<\/p><p>Americans have <span><u>overwhelmingly backed<\/u><\/span> the medical use of marijuana for years. States began legalization efforts in 1996, and it\u2019s been more than 10 years since Congress prohibited the Justice Department from using funds to fight state laws allowing medical marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>The 21.4 million near-daily cannabis users now outnumbers the number of everyday cigarette smokers and alcohol drinkers, according to <span><u>data<\/u><\/span> released last year by the Health and Human Services Department\u2019s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.<\/p><p>The rescheduling push first started back in 2022, when then-President Joe Biden ordered the Department of Health and Human Services and DEA to review the move. In 2023, HHS recommended the change to Schedule III, and in 2024, the Justice Department started the rulemaking process.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2082\">Letitia James Takes Aim at Prediction Market Kalshi<\/a><\/p><p>That regulatory push stalled in 2025 amid legal challenges. President Donald Trump moved the ball forward when he signed a Dec. 18 <span><u>executive order<\/u><\/span> directing the attorney general to reschedule marijuana \u201cin the most expeditious manner.\u201d<\/p><p>Blanche\u2019s follow-up order in April applied only to certain types of medical cannabis and has since been challenged in federal appellate court, with the drug-screening industry arguing that Blanche does not have \u201ccarte blanche\u201d to act on his own \u2014 and should have gone through the regular agency rulemaking process. And despite no judicial intervention yet, the DEA has begun that review process to include both medical and nonmedical marijuana.<\/p><p>Proponents of legalization hope it\u2019ll happen, but they called the entire affair a frustrating continuation of the country\u2019s clumsy approach to that sparkling aromatic flower \u2014 this time, trying to fit the complex profile of an herbaceous plant into FDA definitions better suited for a single chemical compound made in a lab.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019ve drawn a line on a plant where no line scientifically exists,\u201d Charlotte Cathro, an accountant for cannabis businesses in Massachusetts, said.<\/p>\n<p>Kyle Sosebee, an attorney at a cannabis specialty firm in Northampton, Massachusetts, said Blanche could have simply extended that reclassification to all of marijuana, and his decision not to has fueled suspicions that Trump is simply paying lip service to the recreational pot crowd.<\/p><p>\u201cHe knows this can take a long time. He can say he did what he could,\u201d Sosebee said.<\/p><p>Although 40 states allow for medical marijuana, and just over half the states permit some form of recreational use, federal illegality makes doing everyday business difficult. Major banks won\u2019t touch it, leaving that up to state-chartered financial institutions willing to take on the extra due diligence. Loans are hard to come by. And anyone involved in the business \u2014 even tangentially \u2014 is perceived to come saddled with legal risks.<\/p><p>Cathro sold three condos she owned in an up-and-coming working-class suburb of Boston last year for the express purpose of finally starting a college fund for her two teenage boys. But when she tried to hire an investment adviser for guidance, three turned her down.<\/p><p>\u201cIts just because I have the cannabis stink on me, because I\u2019m an accountant for cannabis businesses,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels gross. This is what my clients deal with every day. There shouldn\u2019t be this stigma. These are not cartels. These are mom-and-pop businesses.\u201d<\/p><p>No companies involved with Schedule I drugs can deduct standard business expenses from their corporate taxes. Blanche\u2019s reclassification decision in April means that medical pot companies could rake in billions of dollars in forgone taxes.<\/p>\n<p>Applying the same rule to the rest of legally defined marijuana would do the same for growers, chemists, bakers, and dispensaries that service a much greater consumer base \u2014 and can\u2019t currently deduct advertising or general business costs and sometimes find themselves with a tax bill even in years when they\u2019ve taken a loss.<\/p><p>Cathro provided this example: A marijuana shop could make $100,000 in revenue, spend half of that on acquiring products and the other half on typical costs like retail salaries, rent and ads. At tax time, the shop would only be able to deduct the cost of goods sold \u2014 the first half \u2014 but have to pay corporate taxes on roughly 21 percent of the second half. That would amount to a $10,000 tax bill, even though it made no profit at all.<\/p><p>Sosebee said the tax situation has become so cumbersome that some businesses have essentially turned outstanding bills into massive temporary loans. He knows of one small company that is currently floating an Internal Revenue Service bill of $200,000 \u2014 but says that\u2019s nothing compared to what larger firms owe.<\/p><p>\u201cLarge cannabis companies use the IRS as cheap loans. They have these massive unpaid tax bills in the millions of dollars, and they go into these payment plans with the IRS. The interest IRS charges are vastly smaller than what these businesses can get a loan for, so they can effectively borrow these huge sums of money from the IRS at exceedingly low interest rates,\u201d Sosebee said.<\/p><p>Trulieve, the vertically integrated behemoth that grows its own cannabis and sells at its 206 retail stores all over the country, made financial filings to the Security and Exchange Commission in March that listed $696 million in \u201cuncertain tax position liabilities\u201d \u2014 a whopping sum that outnumbered its total current assets.<\/p><p>The company stands to benefit handsomely from better tax treatment following the DOJ\u2019s recent rescheduling of medical marijuana. Its CEO, Kim Rivers, was at the White House when President Donald Trump set that into motion \u2014 and even received as a gift the sharpie pen he used to sign the executive order. Forbes has been dubbed the cannabis industry\u2019s only \u201cTrump whisperer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cat Packer, who monitors regulation for the progressive nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance and attended some of the hearings in Arlington, was struck by the narrow scope of the conversation about marijuana: nothing about the racist motivations for illegalizing it in the first place and no mention of the outsize effect of law enforcement on minority communities.<\/p><p>\u201cWe have this hearing to consider the future of marijuana, and nowhere are these histories being considered,\u201d she told NOTUS.<\/p><p>Max Jackson, a marijuana industry consultant, was one of the few people who attended most of the hearing \u2014 although he was the only one who camped on South Hayes Street outside the DEA building with his dog inside a large dark van featuring a colorful, conspicuous surfboard on the roof.<\/p><p>He had mixed feelings about how it went, because he thinks the entire administrative process is wrong. But when the final hearing was over, he knew he had to stop by the DEA museum gift shop downstairs.<\/p><p>Jackson couldn\u2019t leave without an ironic token: a military patch of the DEA\u2019s \u201cMarijuana Unit Intelligence Division,\u201d something that may soon seem like a relic of the past.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2080\">Indiana State Senate Leader Will Leave Role to Spare Colleagues From Trump\u2019s Wrath<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The federal government&#8217;s long, strange trip toward meeting Americans where they are on weed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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Marijuana plants are seen at a secured growing facility in Washington County, N.Y., May 12, 2023. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. 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