2024 was a primarily lean and flat year for the U.S. cannabis industry. The state-legal cannabis industry has been volatile from its inception, and 2024 represented a year of winnowing with many cannabis businesses failing. 2025 has some light on the horizon, though, with the prospect of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA”) rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. Until that occurs though, you can expect that cannabis in 2025 will be just as rocky as in 2024. Rocky doesn’t mean unsuccessful though. There are still opportunities across the board for investors and business operators, from state-by-state expansion to purchasing cannabis assets for pennies on the dollar in some cases.

While the cannabis industry is closely following the recently published notice of proposed rulemaking from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), which will move cannabis from a Schedule 1 controlled substance to a Schedule 3 controlled substance under the Controlled Substance Act (“CSA”), a very important federal cannabis litigation matter is making its way through federal court. That case is Canna Provisions, Inc., Gyasi Sellers, Wisacre Farm, Inc., and Verano Holdings Corp.v. Merrick Garland, case no. 23-cv-30113. Filed in October of last year, the Canna Provisions case is more important than ever in the context of rescheduling (in my opinion) and this post serves as an update on what’s happening in court.