Arizona Tribune - DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing Closes With Government Not Meeting Its Burden Of Proof?

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / November 7, 2026 / With final reply briefs now filed in DEA Docket No. 1362, the evidentiary record in the federal marijuana rescheduling proceeding has closed, leaving a central question unanswered: Can the federal government satisfy its legal burden of proof when the scientific standards underlying its rescheduling proposal were changed mid-evaluation without written procedures?

The administrative record establishes that the foundational methodology used to justify moving marijuana to Schedule III-the novel two-part "currently accepted medical use" test-was imposed from outside FDA's scientific staff in July 2023, after approximately ten months of review had already been conducted under traditional standards. Unrefuted hearing testimony from Dr. Dominic Chiapperino, Director of FDA's Controlled Substance Staff, confirmed that FDA never completed a traditional five-part analysis, and that marijuana "would not have passed" the established test.

This procedural vulnerability was further underscored by U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report GAO-26-108623, which confirmed that neither the DEA nor the FDA maintained comprehensive written policies, procedures, or standardized criteria governing how scheduling evaluations or relative-abuse determinations are conducted.

Duane Boise, President and CEO of MMJ International Holdings, issued the following statement regarding the close of proceedings:

"Every regulated industry and legal framework requires adherence to a fixed, objective standard. Here, the federal government began its evaluation under one rulebook, abandoned it midway through under outside direction, and finalized a decision without written procedures. The burden of proof rests entirely on the government under the Administrative Procedure Act. When an agency's own supervising scientists testify that the standard was changed late in the process and that the product would not have passed the traditional test, the government cannot carry that burden. MMJ is not opposed to reform; we are opposed to unwritten standards and unscientific shortcuts that bypass the rigorous statutory requirements designed to protect public health."

As Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek C. Julius prepares his recommended decision for the DEA Administrator, the fundamental flaws in the administrative record-compounded by a lack of transparent, reproducible methodology-will remain central to potential federal challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

About MMJ International Holdings: MMJ International Holdings, Inc. is a pharmaceutical-development company advancing FDA-approved cannabinoid medicines for serious neurological conditions, including Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis. MMJ holds active FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, Orphan Drug Designation, a DEA Schedule I analytical laboratory registration (MMJ BioPharma Labs), and a long-standing pending application for federal bulk-manufacturer registration.

CONTACT:
Madison Hisey
[email protected]
203-231-85832

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings