The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a request Sept. 9 to block the federal government’s marijuana Schedule III order, keeping the classification in effect while consolidated legal challenges proceed.
The ruling covers SAM, Inc. v. United States Department of Justice, Nos. 26-1106, 26-1130 and 26-1136. MMJ International Holdings, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation and MMJ BioPharma Labs are among the petitioners challenging the order. In April 2026, the Justice Department placed FDA-approved marijuana drug products and state-licensed medical marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
MMJ isn’t opposing rescheduling itself. The company argues that after spending more than eight years and $10 million pursuing FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration approval for cannabinoid drugs the traditional way, the government’s order improperly let state-licensed marijuana operators reach Schedule III based on state licenses alone, without the same federal review.
“The federal appeals court left the limited Schedule III order in effect while MMJ’s challenge proceeds, but the stay denial did not uphold the order’s legality or decide the separate DEA proceeding considering broader marijuana rescheduling,” said Duane Boise, president of MMJ International Holdings.
The court did not rule on the order’s legality, the petitioners’ standing or whether the attorney general exceeded his authority under the Controlled Substances Act. Judges directed the parties to submit a proposed briefing schedule within 30 days.
A separate DEA administrative proceeding is weighing whether marijuana should move from Schedule I to Schedule III more broadly.
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