We Are Live From The ALJ On Cannabis Rescheduling
In our latest Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, hosts Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell bring you inside the most consequential week in federal cannabis policy — live from the front lines. Gretchen Gailey joins the show live from Arlington, Virginia, where the DEA Administrative Law Judge hearing continues with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) presenting its testimony today. Michael Bronstein, President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis & Hemp (ATACH), returns for a full debrief on the hearing’s key takeaways.
Gretchen Gailey joined live from the courthouse to recap testimony from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the leading prohibition-aligned group in the proceedings. SAM called Dr. Bertha Madras, a Harvard Medical School psychobiology professor who has testified for the DEA under both the Bush and Trump administrations, as its key witness. Gailey detailed Madras’s three-plus hours of testimony, which argued cannabis is highly addictive, unregulated, and dangerous — particularly for adolescents and pregnant women — and linked it to elevated schizophrenia risk.
Cross-examination by the DEA lasted only five minutes, during which Madras conceded cannabis meets the definition of a Schedule III substance. Discussion also touched on the HHS’s finding of accepted medical use and SAM’s attempt to argue the rescheduling push is politically motivated.
Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, joined for his weekly analysis, arguing opponents are increasingly relying on procedural objections rather than substantive science, calling it a likely long-game legal strategy heading into future court challenges. Bronstein and the hosts also discussed the sluggish state of cannabis capital markets, the need for clearer Treasury guidance on tax liabilities, and ongoing efforts to build institutional investor confidence ahead of a potential positive rescheduling outcome.
Hear it all when you tune in.
