DEA Makes Its Final Case For Cannabis Rescheduling As Full Hearing Transcripts Published
Filed August 17, the brief states that cannabis ‘can no longer remain Schedule I’
As Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius weighs his recommendation on moving cannabis to Schedule III, the DEA’s own closing brief attacks nearly every witness who opposed it — bar one scientist inside its own ranks.
With the full 2,533-page hearing transcript now publicly available, alongside both sides’ final written arguments, we now have the clearest picture yet of the cases made by each party, and more importantly, which held legitimate weight likely to influence the final recommendation.
After the 11-day testimony closed on July 14, 2026, written closing arguments were submitted on August 17 and 18, with the full corrected transcripts published days later. These additions provide significantly more detail than we’ve yet been able to access. Below is our breakdown of the key new information from the publications.
The DEA’s post-hearing brief provided perhaps the strongest statements in support of the shifting cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act of the entire hearing.
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