DEA Reschedules Marijuana to Schedule III, April 23

April 23, 2026

Acting Attorney General Issues New DEA Order Reclassifying Some Marijuana Products as Schedule III Controlled Substances, Available by Prescription

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New Order and Anticipated Regulation Have Significant Workplace Implications

With the stroke of a pen, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a new “ final order ” on April 23, 2026, that reclassifies FDA-approved medications that contain marijuana and marijuana products authorized pursuant to a state medical marijuana program as Schedule III controlled substances and makes them available by prescription, immediately. Any form of marijuana other than as found in an FDA-approved drug product or marijuana subject to a state medical marijuana license continues to be illegal to use or possess as a matter of federal law, at least for now, meaning that any recreational use of marijuana falls outside of this order and is not protected.

The final order, partially named “Rescheduling of Food and Drug Administration Approved Products Containing Marijuana and Products Containing Marijuana Subject to a Qualifying State-issued License from Schedule I to Schedule III,” requires state-licensed medical marijuana entities to submit their state credentials to the DEA for registration in the federal system and promises review of any such licenses submitted for approval within the next six months. 1 Prescribers and pharmacists who fill prescriptions will need to meet DEA requirements for the proper prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, but researchers will be allowed to obtain marijuana from state sources for study. The final order specifically states that it does not legalize the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, and synthetically obtained or derivative marijuana products (such as Delta-10 THC) remain outside the protections of the final order.

This regulatory change addresses moving only certain marijuana products and derivatives from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act – a schedule, or classification, that states that marijuana is a highly addictive substance with no known medical use – to Schedule III – a classification that acknowledges that while the covered substances are subject to abuse and harm, they have medical value and may be helpful if taken under the supervision of a licensed medical professional. And, while the final order acknowledges that marijuana use can lead to both physical and psychological dependence, it concludes that the likelihood of serious health outcomes is low relative to other drugs of abuse placed on Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act.

The new order, long-awaited by the marijuana industry, which also will see immediate tax relief as a result, is not without controversy. Despite President Trump’s December 2025 executive order directing the Department of Justice to move forward swiftly to reclassify marijuana, at least 20 Republican Senators are on record as opposing the rescheduling, and some states – most notably, Oklahoma – have recently rolled back state employment protections for medical marijuana users. A hearing at which the public may be heard on any issues or objections related to the rescheduling of marijuana and marijuana products is scheduled to be held in Arlington, Virginia, starting on June 29, 2026.

Workplace Impacts

The final order rescheduling marijuana and marijuana products does not, on its face, address any potential workplace impact. As a practical matter, however, impacts may be substantial, at least in states with medical marijuana programs with broad application. Many more individuals will be authorized to use marijuana for medical reasons in a manner that complies with federal law than do now. Presently, a relatively small number of individuals have prescriptions for drugs like dronabinol (Marinol or Syndros) or Epidolex, FDA-approved prescription medications approved to treat specific medical conditions. Adding state-approved medical marijuana “certifications” – until today, legally not prescriptions – means that roughly six million more marijuana users will be able to present evidence of their state medical marijuana approvals to explain positive drug tests and request workplace accommodations. (Qualifying state medical marijuana certifications or state-accepted authorization documents must include the user’s name and address, be dated and signed on the day of issuance, and identify the issuing practitioner by name, address, and state license number of the practitioner authorized to do so under state law.)

It is also unclear at this time how the change will impact the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) implementation of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act, which includes marijuana on the list of “prohibited drugs” for which regulated employers must test their workforce. Although the use of marijuana for other than medical purposes remains illegal, and therefore testing for this group presumably will continue, employers may need to accept the medical use of marijuana by regulated transportation workers who are not also subject to medical qualification requirements. For example, FMCSA-regulated drivers are already prohibited from using any medication, even by prescription, that may cause impairment absent approval from a certified medical examiner, and so it is unlikely that medical marijuana users will be wholesale authorized to use marijuana and also meet medical qualifications. In contrast, most individuals subject to drug and alcohol testing under Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s mandatory marijuana testing rules are typically not subject to independent medical qualification standards. (Nervous flyers may be reassured to know there are independent medical qualification standards for pilots.)

Next Steps

Employers certainly may continue to prohibit individuals from working while impaired, and to impose workplace rules prohibiting the use and possession of marijuana and marijuana products for other than medical reasons by their workers. Prepare for questions and accommodation requests. Nevertheless, this rule change may create more questions than it answers, at least for now. In the coming days and weeks, employers should be prepared to field questions about the impact of the rule change on their current policies. Employers should also reexamine, and where necessary revise, those policies to ensure that they are administered in accordance with these changes.

Footnotes

1 The order applies to marijuana as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), marijuana extracts, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other compounds derived from the marijuana plant (other than the mature stalks and seeds) that falls outside the definition of hemp, to the extent that any of these are included in the FDA-approved drug product or are subject to a state-issued license to manufacture, distribute, and/or dispense marijuana or products containing marijuana for medical purposes (“state medical marijuana license”).

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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