Arizona Tribune - MMJ International Holdings Advances D.C. Circuit Challenge to DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Order

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / June 19, 2026 / MMJ International Holdings, Inc., MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, Inc., and MMJ BioPharma Labs, Inc. (collectively "MMJIH"), pharmaceutical companies pursuing FDA regulated cannabinoid medicines through the federal drug development pathway, announced today that the legal challenge to the federal government's marijuana rescheduling order has advanced in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

MMJIH is a petitioner and co-movant in consolidated proceedings challenging the April 22, 2026 Final Order issued by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche placing marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

The litigation now pending before the D.C. Circuit includes:

• MMJIH's Petition for Review filed May 29, 2026;

• The Joint Motion for Stay Pending Review filed June 9, 2026;

• The June 18, 2026 Statement of Issues seeking vacatur of the Final Order.

Together, these filings place the legality of the rescheduling order squarely before the federal appellate court.

"The government wants the public focused on a hearing scheduled for June 29," said Duane Boise, President and CEO of MMJ International Holdings. "But the operative legal event already occurred. The question now is whether that order survives judicial review."

The petitioners contend the Atorney Generals Rescheduling Final Order exceeds statutory authority, violates the Administrative Procedure Act, disregards treaty obligations, deprives interested parties of their statutory hearing rights, and rests upon an administrative framework that the Department of Justice itself has acknowledged contains constitutional defects.

According to the filings now before the Court, the government issued a Final Order before conducting the hearing process required under the Controlled Substances Act, terminated an existing hearing process that had been underway since 2024, and then attempted to replace it with a new expedited proceeding.

"The issue is not whether marijuana should remain in Schedule I," Boise said. "The issue is whether federal agencies must follow the law when they fundamentally restructure a multi-billion-dollar industry."

MMJIH further argues that the Final Order creates a regulatory contradiction that DEA itself warned against in its 2020 Final Rule governing marijuana manufacturers.

In that rule, DEA stated that state marijuana licenses do not satisfy federal law, cannot substitute for DEA registration, and do not authorize participation in the Controlled Substances Act's closed system of distribution. DEA further stated that 'medicinal cannabis' refers to cannabis derived products approved by the United States for medical use and emphasized that registered manufacturers must demonstrate the ability to consistently produce marijuana of high quality and defined chemical composition.

"DEA's own regulations recognize the difference between state authorized marijuana products and federally regulated drug products," Boise added. "The federal government cannot spend years requiring pharmaceutical standards, FDA oversight, DEA registration, quotas, defined chemical composition, reproducibility, and treaty compliance-and then suddenly waive those principles when politically connected state operators seek Schedule III benefits."

The Joint Motion for Stay further argues that the Final Order relies on a statutory interpretation that conflicts with the D.C. Circuit's decision in NORML v. DEA and that immediate implementation of the order causes irreparable harm to federally compliant applicants and companies pursuing cannabinoid medicines through established FDA and DEA pathways.

MMJIH has invested more than eight years and millions developing pharmaceutical cannabinoid therapeutics under FDA oversight, holds active Investigational New Drug applications, maintains FDA Orphan Drug Designation for its Huntington's disease program, and continues to pursue federal registrations required for lawful controlled-substance manufacturing.

"The Court now has before it the stay motion, the petition for review, and the issues presented for decision," Boise said. "The legality of marijuana rescheduling will ultimately be determined in the federal courts, not by a hearing convened after the government already issued its Final Order."

CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
[email protected]
203-231-8583

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with pending litigation, regulatory actions, judicial review, and government decision-making. Actual results may differ materially from those projected. MMJIH undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

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