Marijuana Rescheduling Appeal Process ‘Remains Pending’ Despite Trump’s Executive Order, DEA Says In New Filing
- The DEA's marijuana rescheduling appeal process remains pending despite President Trump’s executive order directing expedited reform, with no briefing schedule set nearly a year after the appeal was accepted.
- The appeal involves allegations of DEA bias and improper communications with anti-rescheduling parties, and this is the fifth joint status report showing continued delays from the agency.
- Recent leadership changes, including the firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi and appointment of acting AG Todd Blanche, have introduced uncertainty, though Blanche has stated he will carefully consider marijuana rescheduling after consulting stakeholders.
- Opposition persists from groups and Republican lawmakers who support keeping cannabis as a Schedule I drug, while proponents highlight benefits of rescheduling such as formally recognizing medical value, easing research barriers, and supporting tax deductions for marijuana businesses.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says the marijuana rescheduling appeal process “remains pending” despite President Donald Trump issuing an executive order more than three months ago directing the attorney general to enact the reform “in the most expeditious manner.”
DEA and reform proponents on Monday submitted a joint status report on an interlocutory appeal that concerns allegations of agency bias and improper communications with anti-rescheduling parties during the rescheduling review process.
“To date, Movants’ interlocutory appeal to the Administrator regarding their Motion to Reconsider remains pending with the Administrator,” the filing from attorneys representing DEA and cannabis reform proponents challenging the process says. “No briefing schedule has been set.”
It’s up to the agency to set the briefing schedule. But nearly a year after the appeal was accepted by a former administrative law judge, DEA is again delaying the process. This is the fifth joint status report, with largely identical language, that the parties filed pursuant to the administrative court’s order.
DEA Administrator Terrance Cole told senators during a confirmation hearing last year that examining the cannabis rescheduling proposal would be “one of my first priorities.”
This latest filing comes months after Trump signed an executive order calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi to expeditiously finalize a rule to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The president has since fired Bondi, replacing her on a temporary basis with DOJ official Todd Blanche as acting attorney general.
During his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation process, Blanche said in response to a written question about marijuana rescheduling that he would “give the matter careful consideration after conferring with all relevant stakeholders, including DEA personnel.”
When asked about aligning federal and state marijuana laws, he said that “coordination between federal and state authorities is critically important” but that he had “not had the opportunity to study this particular issue.”
Meanwhile, a leading marijuana prohibitionist group has retained the legal services of Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, to sue to reverse federal marijuana rescheduling if and when the pending rule is finalized. And they’ll also be filing a petition through the administrative process to keep cannabis strictly prohibited.
Moving cannabis to Schedule III wouldn’t legalize marijuana, but it would formally recognize the plant’s medical value, allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions and remove certain research barriers.
A recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted that DOJ could in theory decline to enact rescheduling, or start the review process all over again, for example.
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A former DEA senior advisor recently authored a journal article arguing that current federal laws that determine how marijuana and other drugs are classified have “fundamental flaws” that have done “immense damage.”
An agriculture-focused conservative nonprofit connected to a PAC linked to the president recently applauded the rescheduling order, arguing that it will “destroy” the illicit market and support seniors and military veterans who could benefit from cannabis.
Separately, a coalition of Republican state attorneys general criticized Trump’s rescheduling decision, saying cannabis is “properly” classified as a Schedule I drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Groups of House and Senate Republican lawmakers also sent letters urging Trump not to reschedule cannabis. Trump, however, dismissed those concerns—pointing out that an overwhelming majority of Americans support the reform and that cannabis can help people who are suffering from serious health issues, including his personal friends.
While the interlocutory appeal before DEA is on pause again with the latest filing, the agency did recently finalize quotas for legal production of controlled substances in 2026—further raising the amount of certain psychedelics that can be made for research purposes in the new year.
Over recent years, DEA has generally ramped up production goals for marijuana and certain psychedelics as interest in their therapeutic potential has grown within the public and scientific community.
Read the latest DEA filing in the rescheduling case below: