The Justice Department is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit from a group of doctors who are challenging their exclusion from marijuana rescheduling hearings, with the government arguing that it would be against the “public interest” to “derail” the process by litigating witness selection.
Doctors for Drug Policy Reform (D4DPR) recently challenged the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) rejection of their request to testify, making the case that the exclusion would cause irreparable harm to its membership as the agency proceeded with a proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
On Friday, the Justice Department submitted a brief opposing the organization’s motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit. It said D4DPR identified “no error” from DEA in its initial selection of 25 witnesses to join the administrative hearings on rescheduling out of the 163 individuals and entities that requested the opportunity.
If all 163 prospective requesters were granted that request, it “could easily become an unwieldy hearing lasting months—if not years” before the proposed rule is potentially finalized,” it said.
“Nor do petitioners identify any injury that could not be cured on judicial review of
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