Veterans Group Challenges DEA For Seat At Cannabis Debate Table
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may consider additional participants for its marijuana rescheduling hearings following a Nov. 15 order by chief administrative law judge (ALJ) John J. Mulrooney II. As MJBiz Daily reported, this development follows the withdrawal of some designated participants and growing scrutiny over the agency’s handling of the rescheduling process, which has now been delayed until 2025.
Veterans Group Demands Inclusion
The Veterans Action Council (VAC), a cannabis advocacy organization for military vets, filed a petition challenging its exclusion from the DEA’s participant list, which was released in October. VAC contends that the DEA failed to meet its obligation to include all interested parties. “The DEA was tasked with putting forward a group of ‘interested parties.’ They failed to do so, as illustrated by the judge’s recent order,” said VAC’s Michael Krawitz.
The DEA had initially planned for the hearings to begin on Dec. 2, 2024, but Mulrooney clarified that no testimony or evidence would be received on that date. Instead, the initial hearing will focus on scheduling participant availability for 2025. Mulrooney’s Oct. 31 order criticized the lack of clarity regarding participants’ positions …