ACCESS Newswire
17 Oct 2026, 23:33 GMT+10

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 17, 2026 / MMJ International Holdings, a pharmaceutical development company pursuing FDA regulated cannabinoid medicines for Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis, today explained why it is challenging the federal government's April 2026 marijuana rescheduling order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The explanation follows public remarks by former Drug Enforcement Administration official Matthew Strait, who said during a recent regulatory webinar that DEA should not be issuing registrations to state licensed marijuana businesses while legal challenges to the new framework remain unresolved.

'My opinion is there should be a healthy dose of expectation management here, because I don't think it would be wise for DEA to issue any registrations,' Strait said. He also said DEA had issued 'zero' registrations under the new framework at the time of the discussion. The webinar was hosted by attorney Jason Adelstone of Harris Sliwoski and included Gillian Schauer, executive director of the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA). Strait's remarks reflect his personal views, not an official agency position.

MMJ Is Not Challenging Whether Marijuana Can Be Medicine. It Is Challenging How the Government Got Here.

MMJ's challenge does not ask the court to decide whether cannabinoids have medical value. MMJ has spent years and more than $10 million pursuing that question through the only process federal law recognizes: FDA clinical development under DEA oversight.

Strait's warning reflects a practical reality. Several factors weigh against DEA issuing registrations under the new framework before the courts rule:

Pending litigation does not automatically bar DEA from acting. But issuing consequential registrations before the courts decide whether the framework is lawful invites exactly the disruption the government says it wants to avoid.

MMJ's drug product is a finished medicine: a standardized THC/CBD soft-gelatin capsule in final dosage form, reproducible and stable, manufactured for eventual use in clinical trials through a pharmaceutical manufacturing partner. The company holds FDA Investigational New Drug applications for its Huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis programs and an FDA Orphan Drug Designation for its Huntington's disease program. Through the IND process, MMJ is seeking to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its investigational medicines.

'We are not anti-marijuana. We are anti-bad science and anti-fake process.'