Project Four 2029 launch targets federal cannabis rescheduling
The Denver advocacy group is pressing a legal and executive-action strategy for cannabis rescheduling before the 2028 election cycle.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Project Four 2029 launched July 4 as a Denver-based, nonpartisan advocacy group focused on federal cannabis rescheduling. The Project Four 2029 launch matters for hemp and marijuana businesses because the group is trying to shape the legal case before the 2028 election cycle and a possible 2029 policy window.
The organization frames cannabis reform as a public-health, social-equity and economic issue, rather than a narrower industry campaign. Its central argument is that cannabis, including both hemp and marijuana, should be treated as a safer alternative to alcohol and that federal law should give adults a legal choice.
What is Project Four 2029 trying to change?
Project Four 2029 is focused on rescheduling, the federal process of moving a controlled substance to a different category under drug law. A change in cannabis scheduling could affect how federal agencies treat the plant and the businesses built around it.
The group says reform is more likely to come through executive action and agency directives than through congressional lobbying alone. That strategy puts attention on future presidential administrations, federal agencies and the legal arguments available to them.
Project Four 2029 is built around three areas of work:
- Developing policy proposals that address both the hemp and marijuana industries.
- Educating 2028 presidential and congressional candidates on cannabis reform and executive-action options.
- Presenting rescheduling as a public-health and economic question meant to reach voters beyond the cannabis industry.
The initiative was founded by attorney Jason Adelstone and strategist Amna Shamim. Adelstone serves as legal counsel and content director, with a focus on federal drug law, administrative procedure and policy advocacy, while Shamim leads the group’s website, media and social strategy.
“For too long, this movement has spent its energy asking Congress for permission it was never going to get,” Adelstone said. “The legal pathway to rescheduling already exists. Our job is to make sure the people with the power to act in 2029 understand exactly how to use it, and why waiting any longer isn’t neutral, it has a cost that’s paid by real people.”
The organization’s timing reflects its view that 2029 could bring a useful mix of political opportunity and public support. Project Four 2029 says its near-term work is meant to prepare legal arguments, industry alignment and candidate education before that moment arrives.
How does the strategy affect hemp and marijuana companies?
Federal cannabis policy often treats hemp and marijuana differently, even though businesses in both sectors face federal uncertainty. By trying to write proposals that cover both sides of the industry, the group is seeking a broader coalition than marijuana-only legalization campaigns have often pursued.
The group’s website includes a continuing series called “The Legal Record,” which examines federal cannabis policy decisions and the legal reasoning behind the organization’s positions. Topics include DEA and DOJ rulemaking, agency authority in cannabis policy, international treaty issues and litigation strategy tied to a federal cannabis rescheduling advocacy initiative.
The launch adds another organized voice to the national debate over cannabis policy heading into the 2028 campaign. Its test will be whether a legal-first strategy can influence candidates, agencies and industry groups before the next major federal decision point.