Caribbean: FDA Calls Cannabis Safer Than Alcohol as DEA Hearing Opens

As of 30 June 2026, the federal hearing that could rewrite cannabis scheduling across the United States opened in Arlington, Virginia, and the government’s first witness called the drug less dangerous than alcohol or opioids. For Puerto Rico dispensaries and Caribbean medical operators tracking how far Schedule III will reach, that is the first on-the-record signal of where the Drug Enforcement Administration plans to take the rule when the hearing closes 15 July.

What Was Said on Day One

DEA counsel James J. Schwartz opened the proceeding with a frame the agency wanted on the record: “The government is not putting forth any evidence to suggest marijuana is not dangerous.” The hearing, he added, is about “regulation, not legalization.”

Dr. Dominic Chiapperino, who directs controlled substance staff at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, then walked the administrative law judge through the FDA’s eight-factor analysis. Day-to-day harms of cannabis, he said, are “generally lower than all or most” of the comparators the agency weighed, including alcohol and opioids. Cannabis has “much lower” overdose-death potential than Schedule II opioids. Withdrawal symptoms resemble those of tobacco, while alcohol withdrawal can include seizures and death.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an opposition group named to the hearing’s interested-persons panel, accused the agency of “just lying through their teeth.”

What It Means for Caribbean Operators

Monday’s testimony is the first time the FDA’s safety case has been put on the rescheduling record from the agency that built it. The hearing now moves into cross-examination Tuesday, with pain medicine specialist Dr. Corey Burchman testifying about treating chronic pain with cannabis instead of opioids.

Three Caribbean programs are watching closely. Puerto Rico’s 325 licensed dispensaries already operate under a partial Schedule III order that took effect in April and removed Section 280E tax exposure for licensed retailers. A broader rule covering all cannabis would deepen that tax relief and stabilize the DEA registration pathway.

Barbados operators pressed local correspondent banks on the strength of the partial order alone. Stronger FDA testimony in support of full rescheduling gives BMCLA licensees a sturdier story to take into the next banking conversation. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia, both targeting US medical export markets, would face a friendlier federal posture if the final rule lands where the FDA’s analysis points.

Bermuda’s medical framework, still in drafting under the Minister of National Security, is being built around UN treaty obligations rather than US federal scheduling. The hearing will not change Bermuda’s timeline, but it does shift the international peer benchmark the drafters are working against.

What This Means for Travelers

None of this changes legality at any Caribbean border this week. Possession rules in each country still apply as printed on the country pages. The shift, if it lands, will be slower and structural: pricing at Puerto Rico dispensaries as Section 280E unwinds, banking conditions for licensed medical operators across the region, and the eventual posture of US Customs and Border Protection toward CBD legally purchased on cruise routes.

What to Watch

The hearing recesses 3 July for the US Independence Day, reconvenes 6 July, and must conclude by 15 July. A DEA administrative law judge will issue a recommendation after closing arguments. The final scheduling decision sits with the agency. Expect the next on-the-record signal Tuesday morning when Dr. Burchman opens his testimony.