Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the DEA decided to pause its consideration of adult-use marijuana rescheduling. We have an update on the state of cannabis in Pennsylvania. Idaho has a ballot initiative which would prevent voters from legalizing marijuana by ballot initiative. And finally, Conan O’Brien, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey discuss cannabis.
CANNABIS RESCHEDULING
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held hearings this summer on rescheduling cannabis. Medical marijuana was moved from Schedule I to Schedule III in April, but adult-use was left behind. The cannabis industry was hoping for a big announcement before the elections in November, but that now looks unlikely. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that there were gaps in the scheduling process, both on the part of the DEA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Opponents of rescheduling asked that the GAO report be submitted into the cannabis rescheduling record, and the DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius issued a temporary stay on rescheduling and has asked the Trump Administration to file a response by October 13. Stay tuned…
PENNSYLVANIA
The delay in adult-use rescheduling is having an effect on legalization at the state level, at least in Pennsylvania. Medical cannabis is legal in the Keystone State, but adult-use is not. This makes it an outlier, as most of its neighbors have legalized adult-use. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) has made it clear that he sees little chance of legalization happening in 2026, and would prefer not to legalize at all, absent action on the federal level. So don’t hold your breath on any changes coming any time soon.
IDAHO
One of the ways states have legalized cannabis, whether medical or adult-use, is through ballot initiatives. When lawmakers have been unable to reach agreement on the issue, voters are able to have a say at the ballot box. In Idaho, voters will make their views known on a ballot initiative that would prevent ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana, narcotics and other psychoactive substances. After supporters of a medical cannabis initiative were unable to get enough signatures to put the question on the ballot, the Idaho House passed a joint resolution that will prevent such initiatives at all. Now it goes to the voters. Will they vote to not have a vote? We’ll just have to wait and see.
AND FINALLY
Conan O’Brien discussed his reluctance to use cannabis with Woody Harrelson and Mathew McConaughey. Spoiler alert: he had a bad experience with an edible. Mathew McConaughy says when he smokes too much, “the subplots become unmanageable.”
Be well everyone – we’ll be off next week, but back on October 16.
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