Cannabis at the Crossroads: DEA Marijuana Rescheduling, the Hemp Definition Deadline, and the Battle Over Whole-Plant Cannabis Patents

Presented by Jessica Mantonya, Drug Policy Watch, Del Potter, Ph.D., BioUnbound, and Art Massolo, Big Hug Strategies, this webinar is part of an ongoing AFDO Cannabis, Hemp, and Natural Psychedelics Committee webinar series.

Stay tuned for more webinars in this series.

Date: July 24, 2026

Time: 2-4 p.m. ET

Abstract:

In 2026, cannabis policy is moving in two directions at once — and the rules being finalized over the next few months will determine who gets to participate in the legal market, and who gets locked out.

On June 29, the DEA opened its long-awaited hearing on marijuana rescheduling. On November 12, a new federal hemp definition takes effect, threatening to upend the products and businesses built under the 2018 Farm Bill. Meanwhile, quieter but no less consequential, the U.S. Patent Office is deciding whether whole-plant cannabis extracts can be privately owned — a decision that could reshape access to cannabis-based medicine for a generation.

This two-hour session brings together three vantage points on this fast-moving landscape:

• A fifty-state policy tracker, mapping how states are responding — and diverging — as federal rules shift beneath them
• The hemp industry’s perspective on the November cliff, and what redefinition means for existing businesses, products, and supply chains
• A scientist’s case for keeping whole-plant cannabis medicine in the public domain, and what’s at risk if patents concentrate control over extract-based treatments

Attendees will leave with a clear, current map of the 2026 cannabis policy landscape; a working understanding of how definitions, license caps, and patents function as levers that concentrate or open a market; and practical, evidence-based considerations they can apply to their own jurisdictions — whether they’re drafting regulations, running a business, or advising clients navigating the transition.