
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we give you an update on the DEA re-scheduling hearing. Spoiler alert: it ain’t happening. We also check in with Virginia, to see what the legislature has planned for legalization, and how the governor feels about those plans. It’s been a while since we had news from Nebraska, so we’ll look at what the Cornhusker State is up to. And finally, if you’re looking for an alcohol replacement during Dry January, some folks are turning to cannabis.
RE-SCHEDULING
As we reported earlier this week, the long-awaited Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) hearing on the re-scheduling of cannabis has been cancelled. Proponents of re-scheduling have accused the DEA of having improper communications with opponents of the move. They’ve also claimed that the agency is opposed to making cannabis a Schedule III drug. The judge in charge of the hearing, John Mulrooney (who, at this point, must be the country’s most famous Administrative Law Judge, which is admittedly a low bar), has refused to reconsider his ruling that no such improper communications took place, but has allowed the proponents to appeal this decision to the DEA Administrator. As of this writing, that would be Anne Milgram, but presumably, the incoming administration will wish to appoint its own person to fill that role. There is no nominee at present, as Florida sheriff Chad Chronister, who had been tapped for the position, withdrew from consideration shortly after being named. Until this appeal is settled, the hearings are stayed. The parties are ordered to give a status report to Judge Mulrooney in 90 days, and then every 90 days thereafter. Maybe this gets settled in a few months, or maybe it doesn’t. Stay tuned!
VIRGINIA
Back in April 2024, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed a bill that would have established a retail cannabis market in the state. This was not a surprise, as Youngkin had said repeatedly that he was opposed to such a bill. Admittedly, there was a bit of suspense, as the legislation became a small part of a stadium relocation drama, but when that ended (and not in Virginia’s favor), it was a foregone conclusion that the bill would not become law. Forever the optimists, retail market enthusiasts in the legislature have resolved to try again. No need to “stay tuned” on this story – we all know how it will end.
NEBRASKA
For those of you wondering about the state of the Nebraska’s medical marijuana ballot initiatives, let’s have a look at where those stand. As regular readers will recall, we left the story with the electorate having voted in favor of legal access to medical cannabis, and lawsuits over both the ballot measures and the conflict between state and federal law on cannabis having been filed. The litigation over the legal conflict has now been broadened to include more state agencies and officials. Originally, the lawsuit targeted Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) for allowing the measures to go into law, as well as the three sponsors of the ballot initiatives. Now, new defendants have been added, including members of the state’s Liquor Control Board, officials in the state’s Department of Revenue and the head of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Further bulletins as events warrant.
AND FINALLY
We’re now halfway through Dry January, when many people swear off alcohol for a month. Some folks substitute cannabis for booze – so are they enjoying High January?
Be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!