On Thursday, December 18, President Trump issued a series of Executive Orders including one to expedite the review of rescheduling cannabis to a Schedule III drug. The order doesn’t have an immediate effect on federal cannabis law; however, it likely means that there will be formal action to change its status sooner rather than later.
Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it is considered dangerous and of no recognized medical value. Moving it to Schedule III would recognize its potential medicinal value and allow for greater amounts of medical research while not fully legalizing it for adult recreational use. Schedule III drugs include things like Tylenol with codeine, anabolic steroids and ketamine—they have recognized medical uses but also have the potential for abuse.
This process began over three years ago. In October 2022, then President Biden announced his intention to direct the federal government to begin the process of rescheduling cannabis to a Schedule III drug.
Nearly a year later, in August 2023, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra announced that HHS was formally recommending that such a rescheduling action take place. The formal process requires that HHS make such a recommendation, but it is ultimately up to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to make the final decision. The DEA has taken little public action in the subsequent two years.
President Trump’s order directs the Attorney General to expedite the final review process and issue a final decision. There is no deadline in the order.
During the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, President Trump made clear that the order does not legalize recreational use of cannabis. The biggest impact of moving cannabis to a Schedule III drug would be to open research opportunities to study the drug. Nearly all cannabis research is currently outlawed.
“While rescheduling could help alleviate some of the federal barriers to the cannabis market and would be a step in the right direction of loosening federal law to allow for a properly regulated market, it would not change the status quo for the convenience industry. In fact, it could serve to slow progress on federal legislation designed to allow states to make their own decisions on cannabis without federal interference,” said Jon Taets, director of government relations at NACS.
NACS will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they are available.