Schedule III Is Here (Sort Of) For Marijuana
What Actually Changed on April 23rd, and What Didn’t
Back in December, when President Trump signed the executive order directing the Attorney General to reschedule marijuana “in the most expeditious manner possible,” we sat down with Jason C. Adelstone, a cannabis attorney at Harris Sliwoski and one of the leading U.S. authorities on international drug treaties. His takeaway at the time was blunt: for consumers in state-legal markets, “absolutely nothing has changed.”
He also said the fastest path forward would be the Attorney General using treaty authority under the Controlled Substances Act, bypassing the slow DEA rulemaking process entirely.
On Thursday, April 23, 2026, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order doing exactly that.
We called Jason the same day. His new takeaway? Still cautious, but the ground has shifted in ways that go far beyond what anyone expected.
“This went so much farther than anyone would have imagined or asked the DEA to do.”
Here is what actually happened, what it means for you as a patient or consumer, and what is still dangerously unclear.
Table of Contents
What Actually Happened on April 23rd
The order signed by Acting AG Todd Blanche does two things.
First, it immediately moves two specific 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-issued medical marijuana license. This part is in effect now — or at least, it is unless a court steps in to pause it (more on that shortly).
Second, it kicks off a new administrative hearing, beginning June 29, 2026, to consider whether marijuana as a whole should move from Schedule I to Schedule III.
What this is not: a full rescheduling of marijuana. The word “marijuana” as defined under the Controlled Substances Act is still in Schedule I. Adult-use and recreational cannabis remain Schedule I. What changed is a specific legal carve-out that says state-licensed medical marijuana operators are no longer operating in violation of federal drug law.
Here is what the order does not clearly address: you. As a patient, your actual use and consumption of cannabis was largely left out of the order’s language. The one exception is a provision stating that incorporating state medical systems into the federal program is intended to prevent disruption to patients, but that is about preserving access through licensed operators, not about defining the legal status of the act of consuming cannabis itself. The order was written primarily around businesses, researchers, and the supply chain.
The distinction sounds technical. The implications are anything but.
Why the Treaty Route Was the Right Call…And Still the Risky One
In our December interview, Jason predicted that using Section 811(d)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act — the provision allowing the Attorney General to reschedule drugs to comply with U.S. treaty obligations — would be the “fastest path.” That is the exact provision Blanche used.
Asked if he was surprised, Jason said no. “When Trump said the most expeditious manner, that’s what it is.”
But using the treaty route to do what this order actually does — incorporating state-licensed medical marijuana into the federal system — is a different legal animal than simply moving a substance from one schedule to another. The order didn’t just shift a drug down the scheduling ladder; it effectively recognized an entire existing state-based medical framework as operating within federal law.
“811(d)(1) allows the Attorney General to move a substance,” Jason explained. “It doesn’t talk about creating programs. They said that state-legal medical marijuana is now in Schedule III — but that’s not a substance, that’s a process, that’s a program.”
That distinction is exactly what opponents will argue in court.
There is also a broader legal context that makes this fight harder than it would have been a few years ago. The Supreme Court’s elimination of Chevron deference — the long-standing doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of their own authority — means judges can now evaluate for themselves whether DEA overstepped. Under Chevron, DEA’s legal justification would have gotten significant benefit of the doubt. Without it, the court gets to decide.
“If Chevron still existed,” Jason said, “there would be a much greater likelihood the court would say DEA had the authority to do this. But now it’s a lot riskier.”
The Litigation Threat: SAM, Bill Barr, and What a Stay Would Mean
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the most prominent anti-legalization advocacy group in the country (who we’re refusing to link to), has retained former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and indicated it will challenge the order immediately. Jason takes the threat seriously.
“They have a $5 million war chest,” he said. “And Bill Barr is no one to laugh at. He’s a huge player. They’re going to get a lot of benefit here.”
Where SAM can actually bring that litigation is more limited than it might seem. Under federal law, challenges to DEA scheduling orders must be filed in either the D.C. Circuit Court or the circuit where the petitioner resides or has its principal place of business. SAM is headquartered in Washington, D.C., which puts the D.C. Circuit as their most natural venue. That said, they could potentially find a plaintiff or co-petitioner based in another circuit if they wanted to try their luck in different judicial terrain, though their options are more constrained than in ordinary civil litigation.
If they obtain a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction in whichever court they land in, the order could be paused before most patients and operators feel any of its effects.
If the order is not paused, it remains in effect while litigation continues, which could take years.
Jason’s honest assessment: “If I was betting, I would bet that most of this gets overturned or voided.” He does note that states’ rights arguments — the idea that this order simply recognizes what states have already built, rather than creating something new — could resonate with a Supreme Court that has been generally favorable to state authority. But that is a longer fight.
The bottom line for patients: watch for court filings in the coming days. How quickly a judge responds to any request for a stay will tell us a lot about what the next chapter looks like.
Who Is Actually Covered By This Order (And Who Isn’t)
This is where a lot of the confusion online is coming from, so let’s be specific.
Covered: Operators holding a state-issued medical marijuana license — for cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, or dispensing — are now operating in Schedule III under federal law, as long as that license is specifically a medical license.
Probably covered: Patients accessing marijuana through those state-licensed medical operators (this is assumed vs expressly stated.)
Not covered (yet): Adult-use and recreational cannabis operators. If you hold an adult-use license only, Schedule I still applies to your business.
Complicated: Operators in states with combined dual medical/adult-use licenses — where one license covers both — do not automatically qualify. The license has to specifically designate the medical use. Jason’s advice to dual-license operators is to start lobbying their state legislatures immediately to create separate license categories, and to begin segregating inventory and financial records now.
Probably not applicable: Home growers. The DEA registration opportunity created by this order applies to licensed operators. Individuals growing at home under state personal-use allowances are likely not covered, unless the state provides medical home cultivation licenses, which could theoretically apply to this order. This is currently unclear.
Does This Make Medical Cannabis Federally Legal?
(In a meaningful sense and for the first time) yes, for state-licensed medical operators and the patients they serve. The DEA is saying those operators are not violating the Controlled Substances Act.
“This legalized medical marijuana in every state market,” Jason said. “Every state operator, if in the next 60 days they apply to the DEA, within six months the DEA is required to issue them a registration, unless doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest under the 21 USC 823 factors.”
The implications of that, if it holds up, are significant. A DEA-registered medical marijuana operator could theoretically apply for import and export permits. Interstate commerce between registered medical operators becomes legally possible. Doctors gain a cleaner path to actually prescribing rather than simply recommending. Banking and capital markets access follows.
“If this makes it through litigation,” Jason said, “the U.S. will be a full participant in the global market.”
That “if” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. But the framework that was put in place is real, and it went much further than Schedule III alone was ever expected to go.
The Most Important Thing the Headlines Are Getting Wrong
We asked Jason for a single takeaway for patients reading Monday morning headlines. This is what he said:
“Your use wasn’t really addressed in this order. We don’t know how that is going to be addressed federally. The framework to make it legal and make it so that it’s like any other drug — that is what was addressed. Your use is still uncertain.”
That is the core of what most coverage is missing in both directions. The breathless “marijuana is now federally legal” takes are wrong. So are the dismissive “nothing changed” takes. What changed is the legal architecture around medical marijuana businesses and the medical supply chain. What has not yet changed is how any of this actually touches your day-to-day use, travel, employment, or rights as an individual consumer.
What Still Doesn’t Change Right Now
Flying, Airports, and TSA
Do not fly with cannabis. Do not.
Jason was unambiguous: “I certainly would not be traveling with any medical marijuana now.” Agency guidance on how patients are affected has not been issued. Until there is explicit clarity — a doctor-issued prescription from a DEA-registered physician, with state-compliant labeling — the risk is real and the rules are unresolved.
If the order stands long-term and you eventually receive cannabis as a legitimately prescribed Schedule III substance from a registered physician, a domestic travel pathway should exist. You would, in theory, be carrying a prescribed controlled substance just as someone carries prescribed steroids. But that framework is not built yet. So don’t do it.
And regardless of anything: never fly internationally with cannabis under any circumstances.
Federal Land
The same advice applies. Federal land is federal jurisdiction, and no part of this order addressed how patients on federal land are treated. Wait for agency guidance.
Gun Rights
This one has some new movement. The DOJ filed a brief arguing that rescheduling to Schedule III does not change their position that marijuana users cannot legally own firearms. Jason’s read on that argument: it is legally weak and unlikely to survive Supreme Court scrutiny.
“I would be very surprised if the Supreme Court does not reject that argument,” he said. “I’ve looked at it very deeply. I do think that’s going to go away.”
Watch this space — gun rights is probably the issue most likely to shift in patients’ favor through the courts, regardless of how the order itself fares in litigation and we’ll keep you updated.
Immigration
Legally, if you are operating entirely within the new medical framework, the argument is that you are doing nothing illegal and immigration consequences should not follow. Practically, under this administration, treat it as unchanged. If you are not a U.S. citizen, do not change your behavior around cannabis until an immigration attorney specifically advises you that your situation has changed.
Federally Assisted Housing
If the full medical framework eventually takes hold and you receive cannabis through a DEA-registered physician under a proper prescription, housing authorities would have a harder time justifying a denial. But that pipeline does not exist yet. Until it does, HUD rules still apply and the risk remains.
Drug Testing (Especially DOT-Regulated Jobs)
Nothing has changed here. If you are in a safety-sensitive role regulated by the Department of Transportation, assume the testing rules are exactly what they were before April 23rd.
Will Doctors Be Able to Prescribe Now?
Not yet. But the path is meaningfully clearer than it was before.
The short version: doctors currently recommend cannabis because prescribing requires an FDA-approved drug. Cannabis products sold through state dispensaries are not FDA-approved drugs. That has not changed.
What has changed is the legal exposure for physicians. Under this order, if everything in the chain — the doctor, the dispensary, the patient — stays entirely within a state’s licensed medical program, the DEA is now saying that doctor is not violating the Controlled Substances Act by recommending or working with cannabis. And because the FDA generally does not regulate intrastate activity, a physician operating entirely within their state could arguably cross the threshold from recommendation to actual prescription.
Once any interstate commerce enters the picture, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act reappears and things get complicated again.
Jason raised the possibility of a no-enforcement memo from the FDA — similar to the old Cole Memo that the DOJ issued to allow state cannabis programs to operate without constant federal prosecution. Something that effectively says: if your supply chain runs through licensed medical operators, we are not going to chase you.
“There is the possibility that prescriptions will be able to occur as they do with any other drug,” he said. “It’s just going to take a lot of clarity and further rules.”
For the doctors and patients in our audience: for now, it is still a recommendation, not a prescription.
Will Prices Drop? The 280E Change That Already Happened
Here is the most immediately real change for patients.
Section 280E of the tax code has prevented cannabis businesses from deducting normal business expenses because they were trafficking Schedule I or II substances. For many operators, this created effective tax rates that were crippling, with some paying 70 to 80 cents in taxes for every dollar of profit. That has been the single biggest reason cannabis remains expensive in state-legal markets.
As of April 23, 2026, 280E no longer applies to state-licensed medical marijuana operators.
“If you’re a state-licensed medical operator, 280E no longer applies to you,” Jason confirmed. The IRS indicated that, for businesses with a January 1 to December 31 taxable year, it will apply relief retroactively to January 1st of this year.
Jason noted that the DEA went further in their order, encouraging that the IRS allow operators to reclaim 280E payments going back to the date of their original medical license, which is potentially years’ worth of overpaid taxes. He doubts that will actually happen, but it is notable that the DEA made the suggestion.
What does this mean for patients at the dispensary counter? Some immediate improvement is possible as businesses see their bottom lines recover. Longer-term, if the order survives, the bigger price story is competition. Right now many states have a handful of operators that effectively control pricing. If interstate and eventually international commerce opens up, patients will be able to shop across markets.
“You’re going to have competition globally, not just within your state,” Jason said. “There are some states that only have a couple operators who basically have an oligopoly on the system. When you expand to a global market, there’s going to be a lot of price shopping. You’ll probably see a decrease in price and an increase in quality.”
One important caveat: large multi-state operators (MSOs) with commingled financial records across medical and adult-use operations do not automatically get this relief. Their books are mixed, and 280E still applies to the adult-use side. They need to segregate everything first. For them, this order is more complicated than it looks.
The June 29th Hearing: A Fresh Start, Not a Continuation
The Biden-era DEA administrative hearing process — the one that was still grinding along when Trump took office — has been terminated. The June 29th hearing is not a continuation of that process. It starts entirely from scratch.
“Fresh start,” Jason said. “New representatives, new companies, new patients, new doctors will be represented.”
The June 29th hearing also has a different scope than the April 23rd order. This hearing is about the word marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act — the substance as a whole. If the outcome of this hearing moves all of marijuana to Schedule III, it would bring adult-use operators into the 280E relief picture as well. It could ultimately create a more permanent legal foundation than the treaty-authority order.
On timeline: “Over a year,” Jason said. “I would be surprised if it’s within a year.” Procedural fights, evidentiary disputes, and the sheer complexity of the record will slow things down.
On outcome: Jason is “probably pessimistic.” His read is that the administration’s real intent was always the medical pathway and the broader hearing may be more of a contingency plan than a primary goal.
What This Means If You’re In a Dual-License State
Arizona. New Mexico. If you’re in a state where the same license covers both medical and adult-use operations, this gets complicated.
First, the April 23rd order’s benefits do not automatically apply to dual licenses. The license has to specifically designate medical use. If yours says “dual” and doesn’t separate the two, the DEA registration opportunity may not be available to you.
Second, the 280E relief is only clean if your medical and adult-use finances are segregated. If your books are commingled, you cannot cleanly separate which portion of your business falls under Schedule III and which remains Schedule I.
Jason’s advice for operators in this situation: start lobbying your state legislature immediately to create separate license categories for medical and adult use. Then segregate your inventory and financial records now, before more time passes. Both of those things need to happen before you can fully participate in what this order makes possible.
For patients in dual-license states: your access to dispensaries isn’t going anywhere. But the behind-the-scenes changes that would eventually lower your prices and expand your product options depend on whether operators in your state can get their legal structure sorted out. You may want to consider helping by also lobbying your state legislature to create separate license categories for medical and adult use.
The Criminal Justice Reality Nobody Is Talking About
This one does not get enough attention, and Jason raised it specifically because he wants patients to understand it.
Federal criminal penalties for marijuana-related offenses are attached to the word marijuana in the federal criminal code, not to its scheduling. This means that even if marijuana were fully descheduled, a federal prosecutor could still charge someone under the same penalties that existed when it was Schedule I, unless Congress specifically removes those provisions from the criminal code.
“Even with medical use in Schedule III,” Jason said, “if a prosecutor wants to charge them as if it was under Schedule I, the same penalties exist.”
Where rescheduling would help on the criminal justice front is at the state level. Many states have laws that tie their own sentencing and classification rules to the federal schedule — and when the federal schedule changes, those state laws can trigger changes automatically, which is where a meaningful number of marijuana-related charges actually live. But here’s the catch: the April 23rd order does not trigger those state laws, because marijuana as a defined term was not rescheduled. The order created a carve-out for state-licensed medical marijuana. It did not move the word “marijuana” in the Controlled Substances Act. That is precisely what the June 29th hearing is for.
The federal criminal code, though, remains a separate problem that only Congress can fix. Rescheduling alone does not touch it.
Best Case. Worst Case. 12 Months From Now.
Jason was direct about both scenarios.
Best case: The order survives litigation. The United States has a functioning federal medical marijuana framework for the first time in history. Interstate and international commerce opens up for DEA-registered medical operators. 280E relief holds. Doctors gain a real prescription pathway. Patients in states where sleep and pain are qualifying conditions — which is most of them — have something that functions, in practice, close to de facto legal access.
“This order does in one day what I thought would take another 10 years,” Jason said.
Worst case: The order is voided in court. The June 29th hearing concludes — over a year from now — and moves marijuana not to Schedule III but to Schedule II. That is still an improvement over Schedule I in terms of research access and medical legitimacy, but it does not help cannabis consumers or businesses and provides no 280E relief.
There is also a longer-term structural risk that does not depend on who wins the next lawsuit: everything here is agency action, not legislation. A future administration can undo every piece of this with a single order.
“Until there’s congressional action,” Jason said, “even if this does withstand judicial scrutiny, a future administration can undo it all with a stroke of a pen.”
That is the fundamental fragility in the whole picture. The legal architecture built on April 23rd is real. It is also reversible. Until Congress acts, patients and operators are building on ground that can shift again.
Why the Negative Narrative Misses the Point
A lot of what you are going to see online in the next few days or weeks will be negative. Adult-use operators got nothing. Legacy operators got nothing. Marijuana is still technically in Schedule I as a defined term. This is not “real” rescheduling.
Jason pushes back on all of that framing — not naively, but from a policy perspective rooted in how cannabis reform has actually worked in every other country that got it right.
“Every other country has started with medical [use],” he said. “Every other country has started with the medical focus, has started with regulations, and then the industry came in. The U.S. did it the complete opposite way. The industry created the regulations.”
Medical use is where reform should start. It is easier to defend politically. It is easier to regulate responsibly. It is harder for opponents to demonize a framework built around patients than one built around getting high. Germany went medical first and is now moving toward broader access. Canada started medical before moving to full legalization.
And consider who actually shops in state-legal markets. A significant portion of adults who buy from dispensaries are managing something — chronic pain, sleep disorders, anxiety, PTSD, symptoms of conditions that are not on every state’s qualifying list, or conditions their doctors can’t or won’t formally diagnose as cannabis-appropriate. The gap between “adult use” and “medical use” in practice is a lot narrower than it looks on a state’s qualifying conditions list.
“I think this is incredibly positive,” Jason said. “Whether or not it’s legal or not is another thing. But anything that pushes the conversation to normalizing medical marijuana — or any marijuana — is a good thing.”
His closing note was characteristically measured: “Cautious optimism. But I would be very surprised if this order as written stands six months from now.”
What You Should Do Right Now
If you are a medical cannabis patient in a legal state, here is the most practical guidance we can offer:
- Assume federal rules are unchanged for your personal use. Do not fly with cannabis. Do not bring it onto federal land. Do not treat your medical card as a federal shield yet. None of that has been addressed by this order.
- Watch for court filings from SAM within days. Whether or not a judge grants a stay will tell you whether any of this has real near-term impact or whether we are back to waiting.
- If you are a non-U.S. citizen, in federally assisted housing, or in a DOT-regulated job, treat your situation as completely unchanged until a qualified attorney tells you specifically that it isn’t.
- If you are a state-licensed medical operator (not dual-licensed), talk to a cannabis attorney immediately. The deadline to apply for DEA registration — and lock in guaranteed priority consideration — is 60 days from April 22nd. That window closes for expedited approval.
- Watch for three things over the coming months: any FDA guidance or enforcement memo that clarifies the prescription pathway; how courts handle SAM’s legal challenge; and what the June 29th hearing produces.
Jason Adelstone is a cannabis attorney and international legal strategist at Harris Sliwoski in Denver, Colorado. He specializes in cannabis regulatory compliance, corporate law, and international drug treaty obligations — including the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the same treaty authority used in the April 23rd order. He has been cited by Forbes, High Times, Market Watch, and Cannabis Business Times, and is a recognized authority on U.S. and international cannabis policy.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have specific legal questions about how the April 23rd order affects your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.
