DEA Says Stalled Marijuana Rescheduling Process Awaits Action From Agency Head Who Called Cannabis A ‘Gateway Drug’

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before the acting administrator, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis.

It’s been almost three months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that was initiated under the Biden administration.

Pursuant to the Tribunal’s January 13, 2025 Order, the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (Government or DEA), by and through undersigned counsel, hereby submits the ordered Joint Status Report on behalf of the Government and Movants,” attorneys for DEA said in a joint status report on Thursday.

“To date, Movants’ interlocutory appeal to the Acting Administrator regarding their Motion to Reconsider remains pending with the Acting Administrator,” DEA said in the joint update, which was also signed by, or otherwise submitted for review to, pro-rescheduling witnesses. “No briefing schedule has been set.”

What this means for the fate of rescheduling isn’t clear. But if the decision-making is left up to DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz, it likely wouldn’t bode especially well for supporters of rescheduling.

Among other things, Maltz subscribes to the “gateway drug” theory for marijuana and believes most people living in states that have legalized cannabis will continue to obtain it from illicit sources such as cartels due to high taxes in regulated markets.

The official, who retired from DEA in 2014 after 28 years of service, has made a series of sensational comments about cannabis—at one point linking marijuana use to school shootings, for example.

He also repeatedly insisted that the Biden administration”hijacked” the rescheduling process from DEA for political purposes. “It sure seems to me that DOJ has prioritized politics and votes over public health and safety!” Maltz said last May, for example.

The DEA judge initially agreed to delay the proceedings after several pro-rescheduling parties requested a leave to file an interlocutory appeal amid allegations that certain DEA officials conspired with anti-rescheduling witnesses who were selected for the hearing.

Originally, hearings were set to commence on January 21, but those were cancelled when Mulrooney granted the appeal motion. He ordered DEA and the witnesses to provide a joint status update within 90 days, which would be this coming Sunday.

The appeal came after the judge denied a motion that sought DEA’s removal from the rescheduling proceedings altogether, arguing that it is improperly designated as the chief “proponent” of the proposed rule given the allegations of ex parte communications with anti-rescheduling witnesses that “resulted in an irrevocable taint” to the process.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department told a federal court in January that it should pause a lawsuit challenging DEA’s marijuana rescheduling process after Mulrooney canceled the hearings.

Also in January, Mulrooney condemned DEA over its “unprecedented and astonishing” defiance of a key directive related to evidence it is seeking to use in the marijuana rescheduling proposal.

At issue was DEA’s insistence on digitally submitting tens of thousands of public comments it received in response to the proposed rule to move cannabis to Schedule III.

Mulrooney hasn’t been shy about calling out DEA over various procedural missteps throughout this rescheduling process.

For example, in December he criticized the agency for making a critical “blunder” in its effort to issue subpoenas to force Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to testify in hearings—but he allowed the agency to fix the error and ultimately granted the request.

Relatedly, a federal judge also dismissed a lawsuit seeking to compel DEA to turn over its communications with the anti-cannabis organization.

Mulrooney had separately denied a cannabis research company’s request to allow it to add a young medical marijuana patient and advocate as a witness in the upcoming rescheduling hearing.

Also, one of the nation’s leading marijuana industry associations asked the judge to clarify whether it will be afforded the opportunity to cross-examine DEA during the upcoming hearings on the cannabis rescheduling proposal.

Further, a coalition of health professionals that advocates for cannabis reform recently asked that the DEA judge halt future marijuana rescheduling hearings until a federal court is able to address a series of allegations they’re raising about the agency’s witness selection process.

The rescheduling proceedings have generated significant public interest. While moving marijuana to Schedule III wouldn’t federally legalize it, the reform would free up licensed cannabis businesses to take federal tax deductions and remove certain research barriers.

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Meanwhile, two GOP senators introduced a bill in February that would continue to block marijuana businesses from taking federal tax deductions under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code 280E—even if it’s ultimately rescheduled.

Beyond the hearing delays, another complicating factor is the change in leadership at DEA under the Trump administration.

Trump’s nominee to serve as DEA administrator, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was previously vocal about his support for legalizing cannabis, as well as psychedelics therapy. But during his Senate confirmation process in February, he said that he would defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in his new role.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)—Trump’s first pick for U.S. attorney general this term before he withdrew from consideration—said recently that “meaningful” marijuana reform is “on the horizon” under the current administration, praising the president’s “leadership” in supporting rescheduling.

After Gaetz withdrew from consideration to lead DOJ, Trump then picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run the department, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.

Former officials with DEA and HHS said this week that, without proactive advocacy for marijuana rescheduling from Trump personally, the process could stall indefinitely.

Supporters of rescheduling got an unwelcome update last week, however, as the White House Office of Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released a report that outlined the administration’s top drug policy priorities for Trump’s first year of his second term—and it notably did not mention rescheduling or other cannabis reforms.

A marijuana industry-funded political action committee (PAC) recently attacked Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, with new ads promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that Trump can deliver on reform.

Read DEA’s joint status report on the marijuana rescheduling proceedings below:

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.