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    Medical marijuana reclassified to Schedule III

    By Robyn Oster
    April 2026

    The acting attorney general ordered the immediate reclassification of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and state-licensed marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.

    • The Department of Justice (DOJ) will also order a new, expedited hearing to reschedule all marijuana.

    Reminder: President Trump’s December executive order directed federal agencies to quickly ease restrictions on marijuana and make CBD more available.

    The details:

    • DOJ said it was immediately reclassifying marijuana products that had been approved by the FDA and setting up an expedited system for state-licensed medical marijuana producers and distributors to register with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
    • The order makes clear that cannabis researchers will not be penalized for obtaining state-licensed marijuana for use in their work.
    • It gives state-licensed medical marijuana companies a windfall by allowing them to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes for the first time.
    • Marijuana products that are not distributed through a state medical marijuana program continue to be classified as Schedule I.
    • The newly scheduled hearing will begin June 29 to provide a “pathway to evaluate broader changes” to marijuana’s status under federal law, opening the door to rescheduling all marijuana.

    But: The order sidestepped the review process required by DEA for rescheduling.

    The main point: The order changes the way marijuana is regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to the less strictly regulated Schedule III.

    • The move eases DEA barriers to researching marijuana’s potential use cases and gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break. But it would not decriminalize or legalize marijuana.

    The broader context: This move came just days after Trump signed an executive order to increase the availability of certain psychedelics. While the administration has emphasized hardline tactics on fentanyl, its recent actions on other drugs could represent a new era for American drug policy.

    Read more: Trump admin reclassifies state-licensed marijuana; Trump officials reclassify medical marijuana as lower-risk drug; Trump reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug in a historic shift