{"id":294419,"date":"2026-06-03T13:58:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294419\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:58:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:58:18","slug":"florida-officials-weigh-in-on-the-federal-rescheduling-of-medical-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/294419\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida officials weigh in on the federal rescheduling of medical marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is scheduled to hold\u00a0a hearing<\/a>\u00a0later this month to consider the broader federal rescheduling of cannabis. The move follows U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche\u2019s\u00a0order<\/a>\u00a0from April to immediately reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.<\/p>\n

Although some observers have said that the direct effects of rescheduling medical cannabis remains limited, representatives in the medical marijuana industry in Florida say the most significant development is how the move opens the door for additional research opportunities for physicians and patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Schedule I, there is all of this bureaucracy, and it is very difficult for researchers to be able to use actual products. In fact, they can\u2019t. They can only use whole plant that was homogenized in one of the very few DEA licensed Schedule I marijuana facilities, which were in no way representative of the actual products that Americans are using under state legal programs across the country,\u201d Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers told the Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow\u00a0researchers will be able to access those products and begin doing trials using those products so that we can get better information so that patients and physicians can better understand and have dosing guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivers says rescheduling will also assist marijuana companies in product development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a product on the shelf \u2014 it\u2019s a time-release product that we believe could be very effective for specific conditions \u2014 but we had no way of doing blood draws to be able to make a statement that this product stays at constant levels over a certain time horizon. And so, it\u2019s very exciting for the future to give us more real data around medical marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boris Jordan is chairman and CEO of Curaleaf. He told the Phoenix that the decision to reschedule medical cannabis \u201ccarries meaningful implications for the future of the industry and provides medical patients with the critical access they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, cannabis was misclassified in a way that created unnecessary barriers for legal operators and slowed meaningful progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRescheduling will accelerate research, expand patient access, help protect consumers from the illicit market, and create a more stable and transparent operating environment. It also addresses long-standing industry challenges such as punitive tax structures and capital constraints. The process outlined provides tax relief today to state-licensed medical operators, with relief expected for the broader state-licensed market later this year. This will help bring clarity for thousands of businesses that have faced years of financial uncertainty under past legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Ron DeSantis barely noted the rescheduling of cannabis after Blanche issued his order. He said he didn\u2019t think the move would ultimately mean much in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorida has the medical [marijuana program] that was passed by the voters in, I believe, 2016,\u201d he said during a press conference in Kissimmee on April 24. \u201cI mean, you see a lot of these stores around the state. I don\u2019t necessarily think that\u2019s a good thing, but it is what it is and that\u2019s been something that\u2019s been on the books in Florida and that\u2019s something that we\u2019ve abided by for a number of years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeSantis fought hard to prevent a 2024 constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational use of adult cannabis. Although nearly 56% of Floridians voted for the proposal, he won the battle, as the measure failed to win the 60% vote required for passage.<\/p>\n

Trulieve, the biggest marijuana company in Florida and one of the biggest in the nation, spent more than $100 million trying to get Amendment 3 passed. Rivers has been\u00a0credited<\/a>\u00a0as one of the strongest advocates in getting President Trump to issue his executive order reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.<\/p>\n

She says that Trump heard from hundreds of Americans about how it was time to bring federal policy \u201cinto reality\u201d of what\u2019s happening in Americans lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked a lot about conversations that he had with folks who have successfully integrated medical marijuana into their daily lives, and we talked about how medical cannabis has evolved over the years. And he was very receptive and understood that it\u2019s ridiculous that despite the fact that the vast majority \u2014 over 40 states have some form of medical cannabis programs \u2014 that the federal government was still classifying it alongside with heroin, and so he took a very commonsense and practical approach to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Minardi is a Tampa criminal defense attorney who works in the cannabis field. He believes the rescheduling could reshape the employment law arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should no longer be the defense by employers that it is an illegal substance or that they do not have to recognize a Florida Dr. Certification as a legal prescription,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cThe AG order should require employers to treat it just like any prescription drug and consider the employee\u2019s use legal justified use and not signs of drug abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOtherwise, I think this bill mostly is for the businesses, by providing 280E relief, greater access to funds, legitimizing their market and potentially permitting shipment across state lines,\u201d he added. (He referred to a federal tax law that prohibits businesses from deducting ordinary business expenses if their operations consist of trafficking controlled substances.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing the non-medical regular user of cannabis is still a criminal and currently still a Schedule I, despite it being the same exact plant,\u201d Minardi said. \u201cIt is a plant and they need to do the right thing in June and legalize it and all hemp products for all adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another tangible effect is a move by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to change the language of the Firearms Transaction Record, known as ATF Form 4473. The ATF\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0in January that it was working to loosen rules that bar marijuana users from lawfully purchasing and pocessing firearms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a major development for the restoration of rights of marijuana users,\u201d\u00a0Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in January. As Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, she sued the ATF on behalf of Florida\u2019s medical marijuana patients, who she claimed had their Second Amendment rights violated by the existing policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose impacted by this change include over 1 million Florida veterans, who after proudly serving our country should not be forced to choose between access to life-saving medicine and their right to self defense,\u201d she said. \u201cThis change is a victory for patient access and Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DEA is scheduled to hold an administrative hearing in Virginia beginning June 29 regarding the proposed rescheduling of marijuana. The next phase \u201cis critical,\u201d Joni James with the Florida Cannabis Action Network said in a written statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients have led the way, and now the broader conversation about cannabis policy is moving forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is on board with the reclassification. A\u00a0petition<\/a>\u00a0filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court on May 22 by the attorneys general of Indiana, Louisiana, and Nebraska claims that Blanche\u2019s final order violates federal administrative law as well as international drug-control treaties (The state of Louisiana\u00a0withdrew<\/a>\u00a0from that lawsuit last Friday).<\/p>\n

Florida Phoenix<\/a>\u00a0is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions:\u00a0info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>. Follow Florida Phoenix on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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