The Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement agency have issued an order immediately placing both FDA-approved products containing marijuana and marijuana products regulated by a state medical marijuana license in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

In addition, the agencies scheduled an expedited administrative hearing process to consider the broader rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. The new hearing, beginning June 29, 2026, is intended to provide a pathway to evaluate broader changes to marijuana’s status under federal law. 

Marijuana is currently controlled under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended to the DEA that marijuana be controlled under Schedule III of the CSA. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a potential for moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence in the event of drug abuse.

The reclassification does not affect marijuana used for recreational purposes, even if legal under state law. Nor does it affect the Department of Transportation prohibition on use of marijuana by transportation workers, including truck drivers, or the DOT testing program for illegal use of marijuana and other drugs.

Reclassification of medical marijuana and FDA-approved marijuana products to Schedule III is a recognition that marijuana has therapeutic value in many instances and will likely lead to further loosening of federal restrictions. But it stops short of full legalization of the product, even though marijuana for medical and/or recreational use is now legal under the laws of a majority of states.