# Louisiana drops out of anti-marijuana lawsuit led by Nebraska AG  
**Published:** 2026-06-04T16:40:54.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/repub/louisiana-pulls-out-of-marijuana-reclassification-lawsuit-against-trump-administration/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/louisiana-drops-out-of-anti-marijuana-lawsuit-led-by-nebraska-ag

Louisiana has withdrawn from a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's reclassification of medical marijuana, leaving Nebraska and Indiana as the primary plaintiffs in the federal court case. [Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a petition Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to withdraw the state from the case](https://lailluminator.com/briefs/louisiana-marijuana/), citing no specific reason for the reversal.

The three Republican attorneys general originally sued the Justice Department in late May, arguing that [the Trump administration circumvented its regular rulemaking process](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-indiana-and-louisiana-ags-sue-to-stop-trump-admin-marijuana-reclassification/) by skipping typical public notice and comment periods required for drug classification changes. The lawsuit also claims the action may violate a 1967 international treaty on narcotics handling.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has led the effort to block the reclassification, arguing that [loosening federal restrictions could make it easier to push for recreational legalization](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-indiana-and-louisiana-ags-sue-to-stop-trump-admin-marijuana-reclassification/). The lawsuit was consolidated with a separate challenge filed by the marijuana opponent group Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

President Trump [issued an executive order in December directing the reclassification of medical marijuana to Schedule III](https://justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-places-fda-approved-marijuana-products-and-products-containing-marijuana), a category reserved for substances with accepted medical uses and low to moderate dependency risk. [The Drug Enforcement Agency will hold a hearing June 29 to evaluate broader rescheduling of all marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III](https://justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-places-fda-approved-marijuana-products-and-products-containing-marijuana).

Louisiana approved medical uses for marijuana in 2015, though the state has over 30,000 registered medical cannabis patients. Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved medical cannabis laws in 2024, though [Hilgers and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts have opposed the voter-approved measures](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-indiana-and-louisiana-ags-sue-to-stop-trump-admin-marijuana-reclassification/). Indiana remains one of nine states without any medical marijuana access.

Murrill's office declined to explain her decision to withdraw from the case. The lawsuit continues with Nebraska and Indiana as the remaining lead plaintiffs challenging what [they argue is an arbitrary and capricious rescheduling order](https://norml.org/news/2026/06/04/republican-led-states-file-lawsuit-to-overturn-cannabis-rescheduling-decision).

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/repub/louisiana-pulls-out-of-marijuana-reclassification-lawsuit-against-trump-administration/)
- [Louisiana Illuminator reporting on the marijuana lawsuit withdrawal](https://lailluminator.com/briefs/louisiana-marijuana/)
- [Nebraska Public Media coverage of the original lawsuit filing](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-indiana-and-louisiana-ags-sue-to-stop-trump-admin-marijuana-reclassification/)
- [U.S. Department of Justice announcement on marijuana reclassification](https://justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-places-fda-approved-marijuana-products-and-products-containing-marijuana)
- [NORML reporting on the Republican-led states' lawsuit](https://norml.org/news/2026/06/04/republican-led-states-file-lawsuit-to-overturn-cannabis-rescheduling-decision)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/04/repub/louisiana-pulls-out-of-marijuana-reclassification-lawsuit-against-trump-administration/.