Before the DEA Decides Cannabis’ Future, Those Harmed by Prohibition But Denied Participation Will Share Their Stories in a Press Conference in front of the Courthouse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Contact:

Kat Murti

Executive Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

kat@ssdp.org

Before the DEA Decides Cannabis’ Future, Those Harmed by Prohibition But Denied Participation Will Share Their Stories in a Press Conference in front of the Courthouse 

Members of the press and the general public are invited to attend a press conference featuring former cannabis prisoners, physicians, and national advocacy organizations at 8:00 a.m. on Monday  just prior to the start of the DEA’s historic marijuana rescheduling hearing.

June 29, 2026 – Arlington, VA — On Monday morning, as lawyers and government officials file into Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters for what may become the most consequential federal cannabis proceeding in more than half a century, many of the people most affected by marijuana prohibition will be standing outside.

They will not be there because they chose not to participate. They will be there because they were denied the opportunity.

One hour before the DEA convenes its long-awaited hearing on whether marijuana should be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) will bring together physicians, criminal justice advocates, civil liberties organizations, researchers, and people whose lives were forever altered by federal cannabis prohibition to call for something far larger than administrative rescheduling.

Their message is straightforward: moving cannabis out of Schedule I is welcome progress, but it is not justice.

The coalition will urge Congress to finish the job by ending federal cannabis prohibition altogether, and will call on President Donald Trump to use his constitutional clemency authority to free every person still serving a federal sentence for a nonviolent cannabis offense while restoring their full civil rights.

At the same time, speakers will challenge the integrity of the DEA’s hearing itself, arguing that a proceeding intended to shape the future of federal cannabis policy has excluded many of the organizations representing the communities most affected by prohibition.

“This hearing represents an extraordinary moment,” said Kat Murti, Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). “For the first time in generations, the federal government is publicly acknowledging what science has made clear for decades: cannabis never belonged in Schedule I. That’s meaningful progress, and everyone who has worked toward this moment should recognize it.”

“But changing a number in the Controlled Substances Act does not free a single person from prison. It does not erase criminal records. It does not stop arrests. It does not restore rights. And it does not end federal prohibition,” continued Murti. “The American people deserve more than an administrative adjustment. They deserve a Congress willing to end cannabis prohibition once and for all, and a president willing to ensure that no one remains behind bars for conduct that much of the country no longer believes should be a crime.”

A Historic Hearing — and a Historic Absence

The DEA hearing marks one of the most significant developments in federal cannabis policy since marijuana was placed in Schedule I in 1970.

The proposed rule would move cannabis to Schedule III, reflecting the federal government’s acknowledgement that marijuana has accepted medical uses and does not meet the statutory criteria for Schedule I.

Yet while the proceeding may reshape federal cannabis policy, many reform advocates say it is being conducted without meaningful participation from those most directly affected.

“Since 1972 when NORML filed the first cannabis rescheduling petition, and over the course of multiple subsequent petitions and years of litigation, the DEA has made it clear that it is vehemently opposed to removing cannabis from Schedule 1 and will fight to keep it there. This hearing is no different, but the DEA is now eschewing any pretense of due process or respect for evidence by only selecting witnesses that share its bias, despite the clear scientific research in support of rescheduling and broadly accepted medical use,” said Morgan Fox, Political Director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). What the DEA’s actions make even more clear is that it is incumbent on Congress to remove cannabis from Schedule 1 – and ideally from the Controlled Substances Act altogether – in order to finally start implementing sensible federal cannabis policies.”

SSDP, represented by attorney Robert T. Rush of the Rights and Reason Project, filed a formal request to participate in the hearing, arguing that students, researchers, young professionals, and communities harmed by prohibition have a distinct interest in the outcome because continued federal scheduling affects educational opportunities, employment, research, housing, immigration, entrepreneurship, and countless other aspects of daily life. SSDP further argued that rescheduling without broader reform risks preserving many of the harms of prohibition while creating new inequities for young people and small businesses.

Despite those arguments, SSDP’s request — along with those submitted by numerous other reform organizations — was denied.

“The June 29th hearing should not be mistaken for a legitimate hearing.  The DEA, the agency that has brutally enforced federal cannabis prohibition for decades, is now assuming the role of “proponent” of the new rules for this hearing,” said Robert T. Rush, founder of the Rights and Reason Project and an attorney representing SSDP. “We are supposed to believe that the DEA will advocate to move adult-use cannabis out of Schedule I if the evidence supports this, which will be virtually impossible since the DEA has cherry-picked only parties that are anti-cannabis to participate.  Not a single pro-cannabis voice is being allowed to speak. Only those opposed to any further reform get a voice. The DEA isn’t even bothering to try to make this appear fair.”

Among those excluded were SSDP, the Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, the Reason Foundation, and advocates representing individuals directly harmed by federal cannabis prohibition.

“The DEA, the agency that has brutally enforced federal cannabis prohibition for decades, is now assuming the role of proponent of the new rules while cherry-picking only parties that oppose further reform. Not a single pro-cannabis voice is being allowed to speak,” continued Rush. “The facts favor rescheduling, but the DEA is holding an illegitimate process that only amplifies anti-cannabis voices. When an agency hears only the perspectives it prefers, the hearing becomes administrative theater rather than genuine accountability.”

Calls for Transparency Grow

Concerns about the hearing extend beyond who may participate.

Earlier today, Congressman Steve Cohen sent a formal letter to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole urging the DEA head to livestream the proceedings, noting that the agency allowed public livestreaming during a comparable administrative hearing in 2024 because of “the public interest in this matter” and the DEA’s stated commitment to transparency. In his letter, Congressman Cohen argued there is no reason the same standard should not apply to a hearing of such national importance.

“It has been 54 years since the Shafer Commission, established by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), recommended that marijuana be removed from Schedule I,” wrote Rep. Cohen. “Your agency’s efforts are historic, and I write to request that the hearings be made accessible to the public in real time.”

“Live streaming technologies have become ubiquitous and a common way Americans interact with the government,” further noted the Congressman. 

Those concerns have been echoed by journalists including the popular cannabis news website Marijuana Moment sought public access to the proceedings, arguing that the hearing should be accessible to the American public.

“Limited physical seating in Arlington is not a meaningful substitute for livestreaming,” wrote Marijuana Moment counsel Joseph A. Bondy in a letter to the DEA. “Marijuana Moment, like many members of the press and public who follow federal cannabis policy nationally, cannot rely on a handful of available seats as a practical means of observing and reporting on the hearing.”

“If this hearing will help determine the future of federal cannabis policy,” Murti said, “The public should be able to watch it. Transparency is not optional when the government is deciding policies that have affected millions of Americans.”

“Supported by the Rights and Reason Project, SSDP is fighting for pro-cannabis voices to have a seat at the table when the future of cannabis is being decided,” said Rush. “The cannabis community must demand a complete record, real accountability, and a process that does not leave the DEA in sole control of the future of cannabis.”

Rescheduling is Not the Finish Line

Speakers at Monday’s press conference in front of the DEA will emphasize that while moving cannabis to Schedule III would represent an important scientific and legal acknowledgement, it would leave many of the core injustices of federal prohibition intact.

“For years, patients, advocates, and families have carried this fight forward while politicians stalled. We are still here. We are still pushing. And we will not stop until cannabis policy reflects compassion, science, and justice,” said Melody Fleischer of Free Hearts, a Tennessee-based nonprofit led by formerly incarcerated women which supports, empowers, reunites, and organizes families impacted by incarceration.

“Rescheduling — if it even happens — is progress, but it is not enough,” said Murti. “Under Schedule III, Cannabis would remain a controlled substance under federal law. People could still face criminal penalties for conduct outside limited federally recognized channels. Collateral consequences affecting employment, immigration, housing, professional licensing, firearms ownership, banking, and higher education would continue. And, thousands of Americans would remain burdened by criminal records, while others would continue serving federal prison sentences for conduct that is now legal in most states.”

Ultimately, only Congress can permanently resolve these contradictions by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and ending federal criminalization.

“Congress has an opportunity to finish what science, public opinion, and state governments have already begun,” Murti said. “Federal law should no longer treat millions of responsible adults as criminals for conduct that most Americans believe should be legal.”

A Call for Clemency

The coalition will also call on President Trump to complete unfinished work on cannabis justice.

During his first term, President Trump granted clemency to several people serving lengthy federal marijuana sentences, including Craig Cesal and Jimmy Romans, both of whom will speak Monday morning.

“I am a person who — with no prior convictions, and no involvement in buying or selling drugs — was convicted, in 2002, of conspiring to distribute marijuana because my Illinois business repaired trucks a company used to haul marijuana,” said Cesal.

Cesal spent nearly twenty years in federal prison after receiving a life sentence in a cannabis conspiracy case before President Trump commuted his sentence in January 2021.

“Under current drug laws, I was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” said Cesal. “Although I received clemency from President Trump, I left behind many drug offenders also sentenced to terms that do not fit their crimes, often three to four times what they would receive for a violent attack or murder. It is time to reform our criminal laws to include sentences that fit the crime and the U.S. citizens expectations.” 

Romans likewise received a life sentence for a nonviolent marijuana offense and spent more than eleven years behind bars before receiving clemency.

“During my incarceration, I lost my grandfather. I wasn’t able to see my daughter graduate from high school, get married, or see the birth of my first two grandsons. All the while, states were selling legal marijuana,” said Romans. “There needs to be something done now. The time is now! There are men and women still sitting in prison for a plant.”

Their stories illustrate both the extraordinary human cost of federal cannabis prohibition and the unique power of presidential clemency to correct injustices that legislation alone cannot immediately remedy.

“We applaud President Trump for recognizing that no one should spend decades in prison for nonviolent cannabis offenses,” Murti said. “Now he has the opportunity to finish that work. Every person still incarcerated for a federal cannabis offense deserves the same chance to come home, rebuild their lives, and have their rights fully restored.”

Join SSDP and Allied Organizations in Front of the DEA 

Members of the public are invited to attend the press conference on Monday. 

Press Conference in Front of the DEA

June 29,2026 | 8:00 AM ET

US Drug Enforcement Administration 

600 Army Navy Dr (The Intersection of Army Navy Drive and Hayes Street),

Arlington, VA 22202

Scheduled Speakers

• Kat Murti, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)
• Robert T. Rush, Esq., Rights and Reason Project
• Mike Liszewski, Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)
• Dr. Mikhail Kogan, Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR)
• Morgan Fox, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
• Michelle Minton, Reason Foundation 
• Melody Fleischer, Free Hearts
• Travis Cullen, incarcerated for cannabis at age 21, now a licensed cannabis operator in Minnesota
• Craig Cesal, sentenced to life for a nonviolent cannabis charge, received clemency from President Trump
• Jimmy Romans, sentenced to life for a nonviolent cannabis charge, received clemency from President Trump

With chapters on campuses and in communities across the country, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is the largest youth-led grassroots network dedicated to replacing War on Drug policies with those rooted in evidence, compassion, and human rights.

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For more information, please visit ssdp.org.