DEA Judge Pauses Cannabis Rescheduling, Sets October 13 Deadline

The federal proceeding to move marijuana broadly into Schedule III is on hold, adding uncertainty for cannabis operators awaiting wider tax relief and access to major U.S. stock exchanges.

DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek C. Julius stayed the case on September 29 while considering whether to admit a new Government Accountability Office report and allow additional briefing. The government must respond by October 13. That is a filing deadline, not a date for a rescheduling decision.

For Pablo Zuanic, managing partner at cannabis equity research firm Zuanic & Associates, the central issue is how long businesses may have to wait. In a September 30 research note, he argues that the stay only marginally reduces the likelihood of eventual broader rescheduling, but could push completion into the third quarter of 2027.

“The timing changes, but the final calculus does not, right?” he wrote on Wednesday morning.

A procedural pause

The motion came from DUID Victim Voices, Kenneth Finn, M.D., and NDASA. They want the GAO report added to the hearing record before Julius issues his recommended decision.

GAO identified gaps in DEA and FDA scheduling policies.

However, its review also found that DEA’s decisions matched HHS recommendations for all 84 substances with final rules examined. The audit recommends improvements to agency procedures; it does not decide marijuana’s appropriate classification.

What a longer wait could change

The research note describes several consequences if broader rescheduling slips into the second half of next year.

First, operators waiting for that change before pursuing exchange listings could face a longer disadvantage against companies that have already restructured their businesses. The report identifies Trulieve as a potential beneficiary: stronger trading liquidity and institutional participation could improve its ability to raise equity while peers remain constrained.

Second, the delay could encourage other multistate operators to separate medical and recreational operations rather than continue waiting. Such restructuring would be more complicated for companies with smaller medical businesses, but the competitive pressure could increase.

Third, financially stressed operators might accelerate sales. Companies hoping to negotiate after a rescheduling-driven improvement in valuations may lack the cash runway to postpone transactions into late 2027.

The note also flags potential implications for Curaleaf’s Aurora Cannabis bid. A longer wait for uplisting could matter to Aurora shareholders weighing an exchange of Nasdaq-listed shares for Curaleaf’s OTC-traded stock.

Finally, overseas markets could attract renewed attention from investors and U.S. operators seeking growth through acquisitions. These are the report’s scenarios, rather than outcomes established by the judge’s order.

Medical rescheduling remains separate

The September 29 stay does not itself reverse April’s separate rule placing qualifying state-licensed medical marijuana and FDA-approved marijuana products in Schedule III. That rule also addresses Section 280E relief, while expressly declining to determine individual taxpayers’ liabilities.

For operators, existing medical reforms and prospective broader rescheduling follow separate paths. It remains uncertain whether Julius will expand the record or how much additional time that process would take.