DEA Hearings Begin Today: Industry Leaders See Opportunity, but Warn Rescheduling Won’t Solve Everything

The years-long push to reconsider cannabis’ status under the Controlled Substances Act is getting an epilogue. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) opened public hearings on Monday on the proposed federal rescheduling of cannabis. The hearings, which are open to the public, will be held from June 29 through July 15 at its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

For cannabis operators, manufacturers, retailers, and advocates, the hearings are a way to address challenges facing licensed businesses and set up a federal framework that better reflects today’s cannabis market.

Cannabis Regulatory Clarity

“The DEA hearings are an opportunity to address the disconnect between federal law and the reality of today’s cannabis market,” Cameron Clarke, co-founder and CEO of Sunderstorm, told IgniteIt in a statement. “Any path forward should support compliant businesses, help reduce the influence of the illicit market, and create a more practical regulatory framework for the industry.”

However, licensed operators continue to face significant barriers, Clarke noted, despite operating legally under state laws.

“Businesses that have worked hard to remain compliant continue to struggle with limited access to banking, difficulties raising capital, restrictions on interstate commerce and the burden of 280E,” he said. “At the same time, the illicit market continues to benefit from lower costs, greater scale and the ability to operate across state lines, creating an uneven playing field for legal operators.”

Rescheduling Is Not An Answer To Everything

Even though it’s deemed a significant policy shift, moving cannabis to Schedule III from Schedule I is not a solution to some operational challenges businesses continue to face.

“As we look ahead to the June 29 hearing, the cannabis industry should be clear-eyed about what rescheduling can and cannot do,” Austin Stevenson, chief revenue officer of ACT LAB, said in a statement.

“Moving cannabis to Schedule III would be a major policy shift, but it will not automatically make products safer, testing more consistent or compliance easier for operators,” he added. “That work still has to happen state by state, lab by lab, and product by product.”

Stevenson argued that as cannabis enters the mainstream health and wellness market, the industry will need to meet higher expectations. “Schedule III is not the finish line. It is the moment cannabis has to prove it can meet a higher standard,” he said.

Banking Still A Hurdle

Moreover, one of the central concerns is access to banking and financial services.

“Even if it moves to Schedule III, recreational and medical dispensaries still need payroll,” Michael Andrud, CEO of Lüt, said. “They still need banking. They still need reliable payment acceptance.”

 “The truth is that cannabis doesn’t have a legalization problem nearly as much as it has a financial infrastructure problem,” Andrud continued. ”If broader rescheduling happens, that’s welcome news, but until cannabis businesses can move money safely, reliably, and without fear of disruption, the industry’s biggest challenges remain largely unchanged.”

Healthcare Integration

Stakeholders in the medical cannabis sector view the hearings as an opportunity to set up a healthcare system that better meets patients’ needs.

“The most frustrating part of federal cannabis policy is that patients are already using medical cannabis, doctors are already recommending it, and states are already regulating it, but the health care system still treats it like a side door instead of a legitimate access point,” Gennaro Luce, CEO of EM2P2, said. “Schedule III could help reduce stigma, support research and make it easier for the industry to build the medical infrastructure patients deserve. But rescheduling alone will not solve access.”

Concerns Around A Milestone

Some industry experts also raised concerns about the hearing process itself.

Ryan Hunter, chief revenue officer at Spherex, said the hearings are a pivotal moment for US drug policy in more than five decades. However, he is worried about the selection of invited participants.

“It is worrying to see that all of the invited participants, including Smart Approaches to Marijuana and the National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association, have an anti-cannabis track record,” Hunter said. “Though this is the standard for DEA hearings, it does not feel balanced and leaves us concerned that important perspectives and data will not be well represented in the process.”

While differing on perspectives on the process, overall sentiment among industry experts is that hearings represent an important milestone for the industry.

“The upcoming hearing acknowledges that cannabis has become a significant economic force and should begin to be treated as such,” Ali Garawi, co-founder, CEO, and CFO of Muha Meds, said. “Cannabis operators have built established businesses, created jobs, generated tax revenue, invested in their communities, and served millions of consumers while navigating excessive taxes, limited banking access, and regulatory hurdles that most industries never have to deal with.”

Josh Kesselman, publisher of High Times Magazine and founding force behind RAW Rolling Papers, said the hearings should not lose sight of the people who built the cannabis movement long before federal reform was under consideration.

“If cannabis moves to Schedule III, that’s progress, but let’s not confuse progress with freedom,” Kesselman said. “The future of cannabis shouldn’t belong to Big Pharma, Big Alcohol, Big Tobacco, or whoever has the biggest lobbying budget.”