The state of Louisiana withdrew from its official opposition to reclassifying cannabis as a medicine and won’t participate in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hearings that begin next week, a new filing shows.
One of four states granted “interested party” status to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug – but the only one of the four with legal cannabis access – Louisiana moved to exit proceedings earlier this week, records show.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius granted the request in an order dated June 25. No reason was given in the filing.
A copy of Louisiana’s request to withdraw from the DEA hearing was not immediately available.
What US states are opposing marijuana rescheduling?
That leaves the following states and government actors still scheduled to argue against downgrading marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug:
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Nebraska, which also has a legal MMJ program but no patient access yet
- The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Louisiana’s quiet withdrawal from the official marijuana rescheduling challenge follows the state’s exit from a separate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s April final order moving state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act.
At the time, Attorney General Liz Murrill gave no reason for the state’s choice to exit the D.C. Circuit Court case Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) vs. DOJ, filings show.
As in other states with MMJ, Louisiana cannabis operators became eligible to register with the DEA as a result of the final order.
Indiana and Nebraska are still parties in that suit, according to records.
Despite voter-approved medical cannabis legalization in his state, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has demonstrated strong opposition to relaxed marijuana laws.
