After years of allowing the state-sanctioned medical marijuana industry to operate without interference, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is stepping in to regulate a drug it once treated exclusively as contraband, but attorneys and regulators say the cannabis industry's interactions with the agency are off to a rocky start.

State-sanctioned medical marijuana businesses entered uncharted territory when the U.S. Department of Justice in April issued a final rule redesignating their wares as Schedule III substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the same tier that applies to ketamine, anabolic steroids and Tylenol with codeine.

Tracy Gallegos, leader of the cannabis industry group at Duane Morris LLP, told Law360 : "If businesses are going to separate [their medical and nonmedical operations] for purposes of DEA registration, there are some concerns. A lot of entities are worried that if they register, that will increase scrutiny on the adult-use side, because that's still a Schedule I drug."

To read the full text of this article, please visit the Law360 site (subscription required).