Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, the Supreme Court will considering hearing a case involving guns and cannabis. The judge handling rescheduling at the Drug Enforcement Administration has retired. We get a look at the new DEA chief's priorities. And finally, some folks in Wisconsin got a bit more than they bargained for in their pizza.
THE SUPREMES
Litigation surrounding cannabis and firearms has been working its way through the court system for a while now. In a nutshell, the question is whether the federal government's prohibition on gun ownership by marijuana users is constitutional. The Supreme Court will consider hearing one of these cases, United States v. Cooper in their conference set for September 29. Note: a Supreme Court conference is a meeting of the justices, where they decide whether to hear cases that have been appealed to them. It doesn't mean they *will* hear a case, just that they'll discuss whether they'll hear it.
DEA JUDGE RETIRES
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) overseeing the rescheduling of cannabis at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), John Mulrooney is retiring effective today, August 1. What does this mean for rescheduling? Let's let Judge Mulrooney explain:
All matters filed in this case will be forwarded to the DEA Administrator, for whatever action, if any, he deems appropriate. All previously-issued procedural orders remain in full force and effect unless otherwise modified by a successor Administrative Law Judge, the DEA Administrator, or the Attorney General. – from Judge Mulrooney's retirement announcement, July 23, 2025
So the ball is in the new DEA administrator's court. Which brings us to our next topic, the DEA's priorities, going forward...
DEA PRIORITIES
Terrance Cole, the new DEA director, recently set out his top concerns for the agency – see the press release here. The priorities are in bold, so it's easy to see them on the page. Go ahead, have a look. Notice anything missing? That's right, cannabis rescheduling appears nowhere on this list. And you can look for cannabis (or marijuana or marihuana) in that document and you will come up empty. So where does that leave rescheduling? Good question.
AND FINALLY
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is not a source we usually check for cannabis news, but rest assured dear readers, we go where the stories take us. The latest edition of that publication reveals that last October, a pizzeria in Stoughton, Wisconsin accidentally served at least 85 customers pizza and other products made with THC-infused oil. How did this happen? Famous Yeti's Pizza ran out of cooking oil, and used some from a cooperative kitchen in the same building. One of the businesses using the kitchen makes edibles. Oops.
Be well everyone, and we'll see you next week.
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