Last Week in Cannabis #9
September 28 – October 4, 2026 | Issue #9
Hey friend — welcome back to Last Week in Cannabis. The US cannabis rescheduling story took a significant procedural turn this week, and it is worth understanding exactly what happened and what it means. Let's get into it.
1. UNITED STATES — The DEA Rescheduling Process Just Paused — Here's What That Actually Means
We have been following the US cannabis rescheduling hearing since it began in June. On September 29th, DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius issued a stay — pausing the entire proceeding — to consider whether a new Government Accountability Office report should be admitted into the hearing record.
The GAO report, released September 23rd, found that both the DEA and FDA lack formal written policies defining roles and procedures for scheduling controlled substances. Three parties opposed to rescheduling — a workplace drug testing association, an anti-impaired driving advocacy group, and a physician — asked the judge to add the report to the record. He agreed to pause while the DEA files its response by October 13th.
Cannabis stocks fell on the news, with investors interpreting the stay as a further delay to federal reform.
Two important things to understand about what this stay does and does not mean. The GAO report does not evaluate cannabis. It does not say cannabis belongs in Schedule I — it examines the DEA and FDA's internal procedures and found they lack formal documentation. The report was submitted by opponents of rescheduling as a procedural tool, not as new scientific evidence. Second, the April order that already moved state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III remains fully in effect. This stay only affects the broader, adult-use portion of the rescheduling proposal.
Mary Jane's Take: Every significant cannabis reform in the United States has followed the same pattern — progress, delay, procedural challenge, more delay. This week's stay fits that pattern precisely. The opponents of rescheduling do not have new scientific evidence. They have a government report about how federal agencies document their scheduling procedures. The underlying science presented during the hearing — which found cannabis safer than alcohol and with accepted medical uses — has not changed. October 13th is the next date to watch. Whatever happens after that, the rescheduling process is not dead. It is delayed.
2. UNITED STATES — Trump Is Reportedly Not Happy About the Rescheduling Delays
Separate from the procedural stay, a senior White House adviser said publicly this week that President Trump is "not happy" with the pace of cannabis rescheduling and plans to contact the Attorney General and the DEA chief to push the process forward. The IRS and Treasury Department also formally made Section 280E tax guidance — the provision that currently prevents cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary business expenses — a federal priority for the 2026–27 fiscal year.
Mary Jane's Take: Having the White House openly express frustration with the pace of rescheduling is unusual and notable. The administration has been broadly supportive of reform, and a senior adviser going on record about Trump's dissatisfaction suggests there is real political will behind the rescheduling effort. The 280E tax issue is enormous for cannabis businesses — it means a cannabis company paying taxes on its gross revenue rather than its profit, which can result in effective tax rates of 70% or more. Making formal guidance on that a priority is a meaningful signal.
3. UNITED STATES — The December Hemp THC Deadline Is Getting Closer and More Complicated
With December 11th now the hard deadline for federal restrictions on hemp-derived THC products, new reporting this week put the economic stakes in sharper focus. An analysis by Whitney Economics estimates the ban could eliminate $28.3 billion in US retail revenue, displace 225,000 jobs, and reduce state sales tax revenue by $2.1 billion. In Minnesota, some hemp processors and farmers have already stopped planting hemp this season due to uncertainty about the market's future.
Meanwhile, Republican senators this week signalled no interest in reconsidering the ban, with some arguing that hemp-derived THC products exploit a legal loophole that benefits foreign criminal operations. A bipartisan hemp regulation bill is expected to be introduced soon, but no legislation has momentum yet with ten weeks to go.
Mary Jane's Take: The gap between the economic impact of the ban and the political will to prevent it is striking. Eliminating $28 billion in retail activity and 225,000 jobs in under three months without a replacement regulatory framework is an extraordinary action. The fact that some farmers have already stopped planting hemp because of the uncertainty tells you the economic damage is already happening, before the ban even takes effect. This story is heading toward a genuine crisis unless Congress moves fast.
4. GLOBAL — 80% of Incoming Medical Students Want Cannabis Education, Study Finds
A survey of 250 incoming medical students published this week found that 80.4% supported adding medical cannabis education to medical school curricula and 73.6% supported including it in residency training. Nearly 58% supported federal marijuana rescheduling. At the same time, 61.2% said they were unprepared to answer patients' questions about medical cannabis.
Mary Jane's Take: This last number is the most important one. More than three in five incoming medical students feel unprepared to answer patients' questions about cannabis — and yet patients are asking those questions every day. Cannabis is the most widely used controlled substance in the world, and it interacts with dozens of conditions and medications that physicians manage routinely. The fact that the overwhelming majority of future doctors want this education and are not receiving it is a gap the medical education system needs to close. Patients deserve doctors who can have an informed conversation about something this widely used.
That's your week — three from the United States, one global. See you next Monday.
— Mary Jane
