Federal changes are real, but they are more limited and complicated than many people in the South Dakota space are claiming.

Reading the Tea Leaves

A Tale of Two Schedules:

What DOJ’s Partial Rescheduling of Medical Marijuana Means in Practice

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

noon-1:15 p.m.

Zoom

The recent U.S. Department of Justice’s order partially rescheduling medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act has created much excitement and raised many questions about its potential impact on nationwide cannabis law, policy and practices.

Join the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center for a webinar that will bring together leading scholars, advocates and regulators to explore the legal, regulatory, and policy implications of rescheduling, as well as what it does—and does not—change in the federal and state cannabis landscape. The event registration will allow you to suggest specific questions you would like the panelists to address during the webinar.Register

Panelists:
Sam Kamin, Chauncey G. Wilson Memorial Research Chair, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Robert Mikos, LaRoche Family Chair in Law, Vanderbilt University Law School 
Cat Packer, Distinguished Cannabis Policy Practitioner in Residence at The Ohio State University Drug Enforcement and Policy Center; Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation at Drug Policy Alliance; former Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation
Kathryn Cornelius, Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Cannabis Control

Moderator:
Douglas Berman, Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law; Executive Director, Drug Enforcement and Policy Center; The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

1. Sam Kamin – University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Title: Chauncey G. Wilson Memorial Research Chair

Expertise:

• One of the leading academic voices on marijuana law and policy in the United States.

• Deep expertise in cooperative federalism and the tension between state marijuana programs and federal prohibition.

• Extensive scholarship on lessons from Colorado’s regulatory system, ethical issues for lawyers representing cannabis clients, and the practical limits of state-level reform while marijuana remains Schedule I.

• Strong on how federal scheduling decisions actually affect state programs on the ground.

Relevance to this event: Excellent. He is well-positioned to discuss how the partial Schedule III move interacts with existing state medical programs and what it does (and does not) change for operators and regulators.

2. Robert Mikos – Vanderbilt University Law School

Title: LaRoche Family Chair in Law

Expertise:

• Widely regarded as one of the nation’s top experts on federalism and drug law.

• Author of the leading textbook Marijuana Law, Policy, and Authority.

• Recent high-profile work includes “The False Promise of Rescheduling” (Tulsa Law Review), which argues that moving marijuana to Schedule III will not solve many of the industry’s biggest problems (280E tax relief is limited, banking issues may persist, and future administrations could reverse it).

• Strong critic of over-optimism about what rescheduling actually delivers.

Relevance to this event: Extremely high. His work directly challenges the narrative that partial rescheduling is a major victory or that it will dramatically change the landscape for most operators. He is one of the best people in the country to explain the real (and limited) practical effects.

3. Cat Packer

Titles:

• Distinguished Cannabis Policy Practitioner in Residence, OSU Moritz Drug Enforcement and Policy Center

• Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation, Drug Policy Alliance

• Former Executive Director, City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation

Expertise:

• Strong practitioner/regulatory background.

• Former head of one of the largest and most complex municipal cannabis regulatory agencies in the U.S. (Los Angeles).

• Deep experience with real-world licensing, enforcement, equity programs, and the gap between policy on paper and policy in practice.

• Now works at both the Drug Policy Alliance and OSU’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, giving her a bridge between reform advocacy and academic/policy analysis.

Relevance to this event: Very high. She brings the “what actually happens on the ground” perspective that pure academics sometimes lack. Her experience regulating a large market makes her particularly useful for discussing how partial federal rescheduling will (or won’t) affect state and local operators.

4. Kathryn Cornelius

Title: Deputy Chief Legal Counsel, Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Cannabis Control

Expertise:

• Current senior legal counsel for Ohio’s state cannabis regulatory agency.

• Hands-on experience with how a state actually implements and enforces cannabis rules day-to-day.

• Direct knowledge of the friction points between federal scheduling and state licensing, testing, tracking, and enforcement systems.

Relevance to this event: High. She provides the state regulator’s perspective, which is especially useful for understanding what the partial Schedule III move does (and does not) change for state programs that are already operating.

Moderator: Douglas Berman

• Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law at OSU Moritz

• Executive Director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center

• Highly respected drug policy scholar with deep knowledge of sentencing, federalism, and controlled substances law.