Cannabis Rescheduling Update: DEA Schedule III Status

Cannabis rescheduling update

Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under federal law. The DEA has not published a final rule to change that. A proposed rule to move cannabis to Schedule III was signed on April 30, 2024 and printed in the Federal Register on May 16, 2024. Hearings on the proposal opened on December 2, 2024 before DEA Administrative Law Judge Paul Soeffing. No final order has been issued.

cannabis rescheduling timeline

What rescheduling means

Rescheduling moves a substance from one schedule to another under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. It does not remove the substance from the Act. Schedule I covers drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule III covers drugs with an accepted medical use and a moderate to low risk of physical dependence.

Cannabis Descheduling vs. Rescheduling: A Comparison Review

Timeline

1. August 29, 2023: HHS sends DEA a recommendation to place cannabis in Schedule III after an FDA review.
2. April 30, 2024: DEA signs the proposed rule.
3. May 16, 2024: The proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. The public comment period closes on July 22, 2024.
4. December 2, 2024: Administrative hearings start before Judge Soeffing.
5. 2025: Hearings continue in phases. Testimony covers medical use, abuse potential, and treaty limits.

What changes if cannabis moves to Schedule III

• Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code stops applying. That section bars deductions and credits for businesses that traffic in Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.
• Research registration rules ease. A Schedule III researcher files a registration instead of a Schedule I protocol.
• Federal trafficking penalties for the same quantity drop to Schedule III levels.

What does not change

• Federal prohibition stays. Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances.
• State-licensed sales stay illegal under federal law. Rescheduling is not legalization.
• Interstate shipment of state-legal cannabis stays a federal offense.
• Federal firearm rules stay. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) bars firearm possession by users of controlled substances.
• Banking access depends on FinCEN guidance and separate legislation. Rescheduling does not address it.

State law

At least 24 states and the District of Columbia allow adult-use sales. 38 states allow medical cannabis in some form. Those programs rest on state law. Federal rescheduling does not expand or shrink them.

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What to watch

• The judge's recommended decision goes to the DEA Administrator.
• The Administrator signs a final rule. The rule then goes through Office of Management and Budget review.
• Congress may review a final rule under the Congressional Review Act. That window is 60 session days.
• A separate path: Congress could deschedule cannabis by statute, or DEA could select Schedule II.

Dates and status come from public agency records. The process has no fixed end date.