DEA Blocks Agency Witness Ahead of Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing

The DEA told SAM it will not identify Luli Akinfiresoye, a DEA pharmacologist, as a witness for SAM’s case in the upcoming hearing on moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, citing Touhy regulations and potential Privacy Act protections. SAM had sought to question the official about cannabis harms, but the DEA says any testimony would require a formal Touhy request and could be shielded. The hearing, overseen by Administrative Law Judge Derek Julis, runs June 29 to July 15 and has drawn complaints over access, including a push to livestream, which the judge previously barred; multiple lawsuits challenge the process as the government defends the scheduling move that could unlock federal benefits for state-legal cannabis businesses.