On April 23, 2026, the Trump administration officially moved FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana products regulated under qualifying state medical marijuana licenses from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law. If you’re trying to understand what that actually means — for dispensaries, patients, cannabis businesses and federal policy — this is the explainer. For the full breaking news, read our coverage here.
What did the Trump administration actually do?
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order moving two categories of marijuana into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act: FDA-approved drug products containing marijuana, and marijuana products regulated under a qualifying state medical marijuana license. The action was announced by the Department of Justice on April 23 and follows a December 18, 2025 executive order in which President Trump directed the DOJ to complete the reclassification “in the most expeditious manner possible.”
Blanche used a specific legal authority, a provision allowing the attorney general to classify drugs the U.S. must regulate under international treaty obligations, to bypass the stalled DEA rulemaking process that had dragged on since the Biden administration. That prior Biden-era hearing process has now been terminated. A new administrative hearing beginning June 29, 2026 will consider broader rescheduling of marijuana beyond the categories covered immediately by this order.
What is Schedule III?
Under the Controlled Substances Act, drugs are sorted into five schedules based on accepted medical use, abuse potential and safety profile. Schedule I is the most restrictive category, reserved for substances deemed to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Until April 23, marijuana remained in Schedule I alongside heroin and LSD.
Schedule III substances are recognized as having accepted medical use and a moderate to low potential for physical dependence. Moving these covered marijuana products into Schedule III is the clearest formal acknowledgment yet by the …
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Author: Javier Hasse / High Times
