Quick answer
Marijuana sits in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The Drug Enforcement Administration proposed moving it to Schedule III in a notice published May 16, 2024. No final rule has been issued. The rulemaking is at the hearing stage, and the hearing has been postponed more than once.
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What the schedules mean
Schedule I covers drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Heroin and LSD are in Schedule I. Schedule III covers drugs with an accepted medical use and moderate to low risk of physical dependence. Ketamine and anabolic steroids are Schedule III.
Timeline of the review
- October 2022: President Biden asked the attorney general and the secretary of health and human services to review how marijuana is scheduled.
- August 2023: HHS sent DEA a recommendation to place marijuana in Schedule III.
- May 16, 2024: DEA published a proposed rule to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III.
- July 22, 2024: The public comment period closed. DEA logged tens of thousands of comments.
- August 2024: DEA said it would hold a hearing before an administrative law judge.
- December 2024 to January 2025: DEA set a hearing date, moved it, then postponed it. The hearing has not concluded.
The hearing step
Under 21 U.S.C. 811, a scheduling action needs a rule on the record after an opportunity for a hearing. DEA Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney II has handled the prehearing orders. Participants include state attorneys general, physician groups, cannabis operators, and opponents of rescheduling. The judge writes findings. The DEA administrator signs the final rule.
What a final Schedule III rule would change
- Tax code section 280E would stop applying to state-licensed cannabis businesses. Section 280E blocks deductions for businesses that traffic in Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.
- Research access would widen. Schedule III registration rules are less strict than Schedule I rules.
- State medical and adult-use programs would keep running.
What would not change
- Federal law would still bar unregistered sale and possession of marijuana. Schedule III drugs move only through DEA-registered handlers or prescriptions.
- No federal commercial market would open. Interstate sales would stay illegal.
- FDA approval would not follow. A drug can be Schedule III and still lack FDA approval for medical use.
- Hemp rules would stay in place. Hemp with 0.3% or less delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis was removed from the CSA by the 2018 Farm Bill.
- Banking legislation has not passed. Rescheduling does not change that.
Where hemp CBD fits
Hemp-derived CBD is not a controlled substance under federal law when it comes from hemp within the 0.3% THC limit. FDA has not approved CBD as a food additive or a dietary supplement ingredient. Epidiolex, a prescription CBD drug, is the one FDA-approved CBD product. Marijuana rescheduling would not settle the FDA question for hemp CBD.
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DEA leadership
The administrator decides the final rule. Terrance Cole, nominated to lead the agency, said at his confirmation hearing that he supports moving marijuana to Schedule III, per press reports.
What I cannot confirm
I cannot verify docket entries after the actions listed above. Hearing dates, judge assignments, and agency timelines have shifted without notice. Check the Federal Register docket and DEA press releases for the current step.
What to watch
Three events would change the status: a completed hearing, a final rule signed by the DEA administrator and published in the Federal Register, and any court challenge to that rule.