DEA Makes Final Case for Cannabis Rescheduling as Hearing Transcripts Go Public

The DEA has filed its final brief in the cannabis rescheduling hearing, arguing that cannabis should move to Schedule III based on HHS and FDA findings of accepted medical use. The full 2,533-page hearing transcript is now public, revealing detailed testimony and cross-examinations that weakened opposition arguments.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has submitted its closing brief in the administrative hearing on cannabis rescheduling, stating that cannabis 'can no longer remain in Schedule I' of the Controlled Substances Act. The brief, filed on August 17, 2026, cites the ten-month scientific review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which found cannabis has currently accepted medical use for pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and anorexia related to medical conditions.

The DEA's brief also points to more than 30,000 practitioners authorized to recommend cannabis to over 6 million patients across 43 U.S. jurisdictions as evidence of accepted medical use. While acknowledging abuse and dependence risks, the DEA argues that cannabis's dependence profile aligns more closely with Schedule III than Schedule I or II.

The DEA's final brief attacks the credibility of nearly every witness who opposed rescheduling. Yale psychiatrist Deepak D'Souza's testimony on pain management is dismissed as outside his admitted expertise. Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal is faulted for lacking connection to the states that called him—Nebraska, Idaho, and Indiana. DUID Victim Voices founder Ed Wood is accused of violating witness sequestration rules and offering irrelevant testimony. Workplace-testing witnesses Patrice Kelly and Mary Jo McGuire are said to rest on hypothetical future hurdles.

Notably, the DEA cites Bertha Madras, a Harvard psychiatry professor called by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) to argue against rescheduling, approvingly for testimony that supports accepted use for neuropathic pain and cancer-related appetite loss. Luli Akinfiresoye, a pharmacologist in the DEA's own Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, escaped criticism.

Opposition closing briefs, filed the same week, largely reprise earlier positions. SAM, joined by Nebraska, Idaho, and Indiana, argues the government's two-part medical-use test is a 'newfound standard' with no basis in the Controlled Substances Act. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation disputes the Attorney General's authority to initiate the rule. The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association warns Schedule III status would strip federal workplace-testing authority for safety-sensitive roles.

Cross-examinations weakened several opposition positions. Pain physician Kenneth Finn, frequently cited by opponents, confirmed he has recommended cannabis to patients and agreed that cannabis users do not stop breathing from the drug alone. Emergency physician Karen Randall's slide deck included a photograph of a child using a bong from Reddit; she admitted she could not confirm the child was real. Ed Wood's claim of 6,000 additional annual traffic deaths cracked under scrutiny, with him acknowledging, 'We can't say that those 6,000 deaths were all due to marijuana.'

The full 2,533-page hearing transcript, published days after the closing arguments, provides a detailed record of the 11-day testimony that concluded on July 14, 2026. Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius will now weigh the evidence and issue a recommendation on whether cannabis should be moved to Schedule III.