Federal cannabis policy and industry consolidation lead today’s developments, with the DEA opposing an effort to reopen the marijuana rescheduling hearing and Vireo Growth adding a major Florida cultivation property. In Los Angeles, the latest production data offered evidence that California’s expanded tax incentives are attracting projects but have not yet reversed the region’s broader filming decline.
DEA Opposes Effort to Reopen Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing
The Drug Enforcement Administration has opposed a request from rescheduling opponents to reopen the federal marijuana hearing for additional testimony and document discovery. The request followed a Government Accountability Office report identifying gaps in how federal agencies document and manage drug-scheduling decisions.
DEA said the report does not provide evidence relevant enough to justify new discovery or testimony. The agency is not objecting to adding the report to the hearing record, but it is asking Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius to reject procedural steps that could further delay a recommendation.
The judge must now determine whether to admit the report and whether opponents should receive any additional opportunity to expand the record. The rescheduling proceeding remains on hold pending that decision.
Why It Matters: Analysis: DEA’s response removes one potential source of institutional support for another extended evidentiary phase. Although it does not guarantee that the judge will restart the proceeding immediately, it moves the dispute beyond the agency-response deadline and clarifies that DEA favors deciding the case on the existing evidentiary record.
Source: Marijuana Moment
Vireo Growth Buys Major Florida Cannabis Campus for $21 Million
A Vireo Growth subsidiary acquired a 415,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation campus in Putnam County, Florida, for $21 million, according to MJBizDaily. The multistate operator had previously leased the former Green Dragon property from landlord Rainbow Realty Group.
The campus supports Vireo’s expanding Florida business, which MJBizDaily reported includes 108 medical cannabis dispensaries following an aggressive series of acquisitions. The company entered the state through its acquisition of Eaze and Green Dragon and has continued building scale through additional transactions involving Fluent and Planet 13.
Why It Matters: Analysis: Purchasing a previously leased cultivation asset gives Vireo greater control over a critical part of its Florida supply chain and converts a recurring landlord relationship into owned infrastructure. The transaction also reinforces the company’s strategy of assembling one of the largest retail and production platforms in Florida’s limited-license, vertically integrated medical market.
Source: MJBizDaily
Los Angeles Filming Falls Again Despite Growing Tax-Credit Support
Greater Los Angeles recorded 4,171 on-location shoot days during the third quarter, a 4.8% decline from the same period in 2025 and nearly 29% below the five-year average, according to FilmLA data reported by the Los Angeles Times. The measurement covers permitted location work but does not include production on certified soundstages.
California tax-credit projects represented a growing portion of local activity. Television comedies posted a substantial year-over-year increase, while feature-film production rose modestly, but television drama, reality programming, pilots and commercials continued to lose ground.
Why It Matters: Analysis: The results suggest California’s expanded incentive is influencing where qualifying productions shoot, but the program has not yet generated enough volume to offset the entertainment industry’s wider contraction. Continued weakness threatens crew employment and the network of vendors, property owners and small businesses that depend on Los Angeles production spending.
Source: Los Angeles Times
What We’re Watching
Over the next 24 to 72 hours, watch for the DEA judge’s next order in the rescheduling proceeding, any filings that clarify Vireo’s financing and integration plans for its Florida campus, and industry or government responses to FilmLA’s evidence that incentive-backed projects are becoming increasingly important to Los Angeles production.
