Justice Department issues order placing state-licensed medical cannabis in Schedule III as DEA hearings and federal dispensary registrations begin
Following a December 2025 executive order, the Justice Department issued an April 23, 2026 order moving FDA-approved and state-licensed medical cannabis into Schedule III—leading to summer 2026 DEA hearings and the first…
On April 23, 2026—following President Donald Trump’s December 18, 2025 executive order directing the Justice Department to expedite medical cannabis rescheduling—Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an administrative order placing FDA-approved cannabis medications and cannabis dispensed through state-licensed medical marijuana programs into Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, while leaving unauthorized illicit-market cannabis in Schedule I.
How the 2026 Schedule III transition unfolded
- December 18, 2025 (Executive Order): The White House directed the Attorney General and DEA to complete the rescheduling of medical cannabis initiated by HHS’s August 2023 scientific review.
- April 23, 2026 (DOJ Schedule III Order): Rather than moving all botanical cannabis unconditionally at once, the Justice Department issued a targeted Schedule III classification covering state-licensed medical cannabis operations and clinical research, immediately teeing up relief from Internal Revenue Code Section 280E for qualifying medical operators.
- June 29 – October 2026 (DEA Administrative Hearings): Formal hearings before a DEA Administrative Law Judge convened on June 29, 2026 on the broader Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, with post-hearing briefs submitted in October 2026 and legal challenges filed by anti-legalization groups contesting the statutory mechanism.
- Late October 2026 (First Federal Dispensary Registrations): By late October 2026, the DEA issued its first wave of more than 900 Schedule III federal registrations to state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, marking the first time in 56 years under the Controlled Substances Act that state-licensed cannabis storefronts held active federal controlled-substance registrations.
Photo: Adobe Stock. Contextual stock: DEA website homepage on a computer in Portland, Oregon, November 10, 2024; not a photograph of the 2026 order or hearings.
Originally reported by U.S. Department of Justice & Drug Enforcement Administration
Sources (3)
- White House Executive Order on Medical Cannabis Research and Scheduling Implementation (December 18, 2025).
- Office of the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Order Reclassifying FDA-Approved and State-Authorized Medical Cannabis Under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (issued April 23, 2026).
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge Hearings on the May 2024 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (convened June 29, 2026; post-hearing briefs filed October 2026) and initial Schedule III practitioner/dispensary registrations (October–November 2026).
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